Surah Az-Zukhruf

Chapter 43 · Verse 45 · Revealed in Makkah

وَسْـَٔلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَآ أَجَعَلْنَا مِن دُونِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ءَالِهَةًۭ يُعْبَدُونَ

And ask those We sent before you of Our messengers; have We made besides the Most Merciful deities to be worshipped?

Translation: Saheeh International

Listen to recitation

Mishary Rashid Alafasy

Reflection — Ibn Kathir

The Shaytan is the Companion of the One Who turns away from Ar-Rahman

وَمَن يَعْشُ

(And whosoever Ya`shu (turns away blindly)) means, whoever willfully ignores and turns away

Reflection — Maarif ul Quran

وَاسْأَلْ مَنْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رُّ‌سُلِنَا (And ask Our messengers whom We sent before you...43:45) A question may arise here: Since all the earlier prophets (علیہم السلام) had expired at the time of the revelation of this verse, how could the Holy Prophet t ask any question from his predecessors? Some exegetes have taken the verse in the sense that if, as a miracle, Allah Ta` ala arranges for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to meet the earlier prophets (علیہم السلام) ، then he should ask them about it. And it is well-established that the Holy Prophet t met all the preceding prophets (علیہم السلام) during the Night of Ascension. ` Allamah Qurtubi quotes some narrations according to which the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked them this very thing after leading them in the prayers; but we could not discover the source of these narrations. Most exegetes have, therefore, explained that the verse does not mean to ask the prophets verbally. What is meant by the verse is to consult the divine Scriptures revealed to the earlier prophets, and to ask their learned scholars. And the scriptures of the prophets of Bani Isra'il which are available now, despite so many distortions, contain teachings about 'tauhid' (Oneness of Allah) and condemnation of 'shirk' (associating others with Allah) even today. For example, some excerpts from the Bible are quoted below:

Teachings about Oneness in the Scriptures of the earlier prophets (علیہم السلام)

What does this verse bring up for you today?

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