Tafsir of Fatir 35:14

Surah Fatir (35): Verse 14

إن تدعوهم لا يسمعوا دعاءكم ويرون لو سمعوا ما استجابوا لكم ويوم القيامة يكفرون بشرككم ولا ينبئك مثل خبير

(If you call upon them, they do not hear your call, and even if they did hear, they would not respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your association [of them with God]. And no one informs you like the All-Aware.)

This verse serves to invalidate what the idolaters used to claim: that there is some honor or benefit in worshipping idols, derived from being close to them, looking at them, and presenting their needs to them.

1. God's Superiority: God is not seen, and no one can reach Him.
2. The Idols' Inability: These idols (which they worship) do not hear your supplication.
3. The Good Word Ascends to God: Even if they could hear (as they claim), God is the one to whom the good word ascends (is heard and accepted).
4. The Impossibility of Response: Even if we grant their assumption that the idols hear and know (which they claimed), they could never claim that the idols answer the call. Denying their hearing is denying the perceptible (the mahsus), while denying their answering is denying the rational (ma'qul). While disputes can occur regarding the rational, they cannot occur regarding the perceptible.
5. Consequence in the Hereafter: After establishing their uselessness in this world, God points out their harm in the Hereafter by saying: {ويوم القيامة يكفرون بشرككم} (And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your association [of them with God]). This means they will deny the act of associating them with God, just as God says: {إن الشرك لظلم عظيم} (Indeed, association [of partners with God] is a great injustice).
6. The Final Assertion: {ولا ينبئك مثل خبير} (And no one informs you like the All-Aware). This has two possible interpretations:
   • Addressed to the Prophet (PBUH): Since God informed the Prophet that wood and stone will speak on the Day of Resurrection to deny their worshippers—a matter unknowable by mere intellect without divine revelation—this statement confirms the truthfulness of the report, as the one reporting it is the All-Aware (Al-Khabir).
   • General Address: This statement is not exclusive to anyone. It means: What has been mentioned is true, and {ولا ينبئك مثل خبير} (No one informs you, O hearer, whoever you may be, like the All-Aware).

Surah Fatir (35): Verse 15

يا أيها الناس أنتم الفقراء إلى الله والله هو الغني الحميد

(O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, but Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.)

Then the Almighty said: {يا أيها الناس أنتم الفقراء إلى الله والله هو الغني الحميد} (O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, but Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy).