Quran Universe
5:76

قُلۡ أَتَعۡبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمۡلِكُ لَكُمۡ ضَرّٗا وَلَا نَفۡعٗاۚ وَٱللَّهُ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ

Qul ataAAbudoona min dooni Allahi ma la yamliku lakum darran wala nafAAan waAllahu huwa alssameeAAu alAAaleemu

Say, "Do you worship besides Allah that which holds for you no [power of] harm or benefit while it is Allah who is the Hearing, the Knowing?"

Word by word
  1. قُلۡSay
  2. أَتَعۡبُدُونَDo you worship
  3. مِنfrom
  4. دُونِbesides
  5. ٱللَّهِAllah
  6. مَاwhat
  7. لَاnot
  8. يَمۡلِكُhas power
  9. لَكُمۡto (cause) you
  10. ضَرّٗاany harm
  11. وَلَاand not
  12. نَفۡعٗاۚany benefit
  13. وَٱللَّهُwhile Allah
  14. هُوَHe
  15. ٱلسَّمِيعُ(is) the All-Hearing
  16. ٱلۡعَلِيمُthe All-Knowing
Al-Ma'idah · 5:76Madinah

Why turn to what cannot help or harm you?

The One who hears and knows

Two places to turn
besides Allahno harm, no benefit
versus
AllahAll-Hearing, All-Knowing
What it can do
0cannot even protect itself
hears every wordknows every need

The Prophet ﷺ is told to ask a direct question. Ibn Kathir explains it: how can anyone worship things that cannot prevent harm or bring benefit, that do not hear, see or know, instead of Allah, who hears what His servants say and knows all things?

The lucky charm in the car. The horoscope app you open "just for fun" before an interview. The person whose approval you check like a weather report. None of them heard you this morning. Allah heard every word, even the ones you did not say.

A little extra luck or reassurance on the side cannot hurt.

Only Allah hears me and can help me. Everything else hears nothing.

Try this

Remove one thing you keep for luck or reassurance, and ask Allah directly instead.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Say: "How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower. (76)Say: "O People of the Scripture! Exceed not the limits in your religion beyond the truth, and do not follow the vain desires of people who went astray before and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path. (77)

The Prohibition of Shirk (Polytheism) and Exaggeration in the Religion

Allah admonishes those who take up rivals with Him and worship the idols, monuments and false deities. Allah states that such false deities do not deserve any degree of Divinity. Allah said,

قُلْ 

(Say) O Muhammad, to those from among the Children of Adam, such as the Christians, who worship other than Allah,

أَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا

(How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you?) meaning, which cannot prevent harm for you nor bring about your benefit,

وَاللَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

(But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower.) He hears what His servants say and has knowledge of all things. Therefore, how did you worship inanimate objects that do not hear, see or know anything - having no power to bring harm or benefit to themselves let alone others - instead of worshipping Allah? Allah then said,

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ

(Say: "O People of the Scipture! Exceed not the limits in your religion beyond the truth,)

Meaning: Do not exceed the limits concerning the truth and exaggeration in praising whom you were commanded to honor. You exaggerated in his case and elevated him from the rank of Prophet to the rank of a god. You did this with 'Isa, who was a Prophet, yet you claimed that he is god besides Allah. This error occurred because you followed your teachers, the advocates of misguidance who came before your time and who,

وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَن سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ

(...and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path,) deviated from the straight path, to the path of misguidance and deviation.