Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Furqan Verse 55

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They worship, instead of Allah, what can neither give them any benefit nor can cause them any harm. The disbeliever is always a supporter (of Satan) against his Lord.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Yet they worship besides Allah what can neither benefit nor harm them. And the disbeliever always collaborates against their Lord.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Yet they worship besides Allah that which can neither benefit nor harm them; the disbeliever always collaborates against his Lord.

A. J. Arberry

And they serve, apart from God, what neither profits them nor hurts them; and the unbeliever is ever a partisan against his Lord.

Abdul Haleem

Yet instead of God they worship things that can neither benefit nor harm them: the disbeliever has always turned his back on his Lord.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And yet they worship, besides Allah, that which can neither benefit them nor hurt them; and the infidel is ever an aider of the devil against his Lord.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Yet do they worship, besides Allah, things that can neither profit them nor harm them; and the Misbeliever is a helper (of Evil), against his own Lord!

Abul Ala Maududi

Yet they worship, instead of Allah, those who can neither benefit them nor harm them: more than this, the disbeliever has become a helper of every rebel against his Lord.

Ahmed Ali

And yet they worship besides God what cannot bring them gain or do them harm. The unbeliever has always been an auxiliary against his Lord.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And they worship such, other than Allah, which neither benefit nor hurt them; and the disbeliever helps the devil instead of his Lord.

Ali Quli Qarai

They worship besides Allah that which neither brings them any benefit nor causes them any harm, and the faithless one is ever an abettor against his Lord.

Ali Ünal

And yet they (the polytheists) worship, apart from God, that which can neither benefit them nor harm them. The unbeliever is ever prone to make cause (i.e. to back everyone and every movement) against his Lord.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Yet they (- the disbelievers) worship apart from Allâh the things which can neither do them good nor avert harm from them. And the disbeliever is ever a helper (of the upholders of the cause of untruth) against his Lord.

English Literal

And they worship from other that God what does not benefit them, and nor harms them, and the disbeliever was/is on (against) his Lord a supporter/helper.

Faridul Haque

And they worship such, other than Allah, which neither benefit nor hurt them; and the disbeliever helps the devil instead of his Lord.

Hamid S. Aziz

And He it is who has created man from water, and has appointed for him kindred by blood and kindred by marriage for your Lord is ever Powerful.

Hilali & Khan

And they (disbelievers, polytheists, etc.) worship besides Allah, that which can neither profit them nor harm them, and the disbeliever is ever a helper (of the Satan) against his Lord.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And He it is Who has created man from water, then He has made for him blood-relationship and marriage-relationship. And thy Lord is ever Powerful.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And they serve besides Allah that which neither profits them nor causes them harm; and the unbeliever is a partisan against his Lord.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Yet they worship instead of Allah that which can neither benefit them nor hurt them. The disbeliever was ever a partisan against his Lord.

Muhammad Sarwar

They worship besides God things that can neither benefit nor harm them. The unbelievers are defiant against their Lord.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Yet they (the unbelievers) worship, other than Allah, that which can neither benefit nor harm them. Surely, the unbeliever is ever a partisan against his Lord.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And they worship besides Allah, that which can neither profit them nor harm them; and the disbeliever is ever a helper against his Lord.

Wahiduddin Khan

Yet they worship besides God that which can neither benefit them nor harm them. One who denies the truth is a helper [of evil] against his Lord.

Talal Itani

And yet, instead of God, they serve what neither profits them nor harms them. The disbeliever has always turned his back on his Lord.

Tafsir jalalayn

And they, the disbelievers, worship besides God that which neither benefits them, when they worship it, nor harms them, should they refrain therefrom -- and these are idols; and the disbeliever is ever a partisan against his Lord, an assistant to Satan through his obedience to him.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Ignorance of the Idolators

Allah tells;

وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُهُمْ وَلَا يَضُرُّهُمْ

And they worship besides Allah, that which can neither profit them nor harm them;

Allah tells us how ignorant the idolators are; instead of worshipping Allah, they worship idols which do not possess the power either to harm or benefit. They do this with no evidence or proof; the only thing that led them to do this was their own whims and desires. So they take these idols as protectors and fight for their sake, and they oppose Allah and His Messenger and the believers for their sake.

Similarly Allah says;

وَكَانَ الْكَافِرُ عَلَى رَبِّهِ ظَهِيرًا



and the disbeliever is ever a helper against his Lord.

meaning, he is a supporter of Shaytan against the party of Allah, but the party of Allah are the ones who will prevail, as Allah says;

وَاتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ءَالِهَةً لَّعَلَّهُمْ يُنصَرُونَ

لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مٌّحْضَرُونَ

And they have taken besides Allah gods, hoping that they might be helped. They cannot help them, but they will be brought forward as a troop against those who worshipped them. (36;74-75)

meaning, the gods which they worshipped instead of Allah cannot help them. These ignorant people are troops for the idols and are ready to fight for their sake and protect their sanctuaries, but in the end the victory will be for Allah and His Messenger and the believers, in this world and the Hereafter.

وَكَانَ الْكَافِرُ عَلَى رَبِّهِ ظَهِيرًا


and the disbeliever is ever a helper against his Lord.

Mujahid said;

"He supports and helps the Shaytan in disobedience towards Allah."
The Messenger brings Glad Tidings and Warnings

Then Allah tells His Messenger;

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا