46 Al-Ahqaf (The Sand-Dunes)

Mecca Period 66

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَومِ الْقِيَامَةِ...

46; 5. And who is more astray than one who invokes, besides Allah, such as will not answer him to the Day of Judgement,

C4779. As there is no argument at all in favour of your sham worship, what sense is there in it?

Either your false gods are senseless stocks and stones which will never answer you to the end of Time, being themselves devoid of understanding, or they are real objects which will disown you at the last.

If you worshipped Self, your own misused faculties will witness against you at the last (41:20-23).

If you worshipped good men or prophets, like Jesus, they will disown you (5:116-117). Similarly, if you worshipped angels, they will disown you (34:40-41).

...وَهُمْ عَن دُعَائِهِمْ غَافِلُونَ ﴿٥﴾

and who (in fact) are unconscious of their call (to them)?

وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوا لَهُمْ أَعْدَاء وَكَانُوا بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَافِرِينَ ﴿٦﴾

46: 6. And when mankind are gathered together (at the Resurrection), they will be hostile to them and reject their worship (altogether)!

Asad’s Version:

46:5 And who could be more astray than one who invokes, instead of God, such as will not respond to him either now or on the Day of Resurrection, 5 and are not even conscious of being invoked? –

(46:6) such as, when all mankind is gathered [for judgment], will be enemies unto

those (who worshipped them], and will utterly reject their worship? 6