Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AR RA'D [33]

(Is then He (Allah) Who takes charge of every person and knows all that he has earned) Allah is the guard and watcher over every living soul and knows what everyone does, whether good or evil, and nothing ever escapes His perfect observation. Allah said in other Ayat,

(Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any deed, but we are witness thereof, when you are doing it.) ï´¿10:61ï´¾ and Allah said,

(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it.) ï´¿6:59ï´¾

(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposits. All is in a Clear Book.)ï´¿11:6ï´¾,

(It is the same (to Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day.) ï´¿13:10ï´¾

(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.) ï´¿20:7ï´¾ and,

(And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer of what you do.) ï´¿57:4ï´¾ Is He Who is like this similar to the idols, that the polytheists worship, which can neither hear nor see nor do they have a mind nor able to bring good to themselves or to their worshippers nor prevent harm from themselves or their worshippers The answer to the question in the Ayah was omitted, because it is implied, for Allah said next,

(Yet, they ascribe partners to Allah.) which they worshipped besides Him, such as idols, rivals and false deities,

(Say: ”Name them!'') make them known to us and uncover them so that they are known, for surely, they do not exist at all! So Allah said,

(Is it that you will inform Him of something He knows not in the earth) for had that thing existed in or on the earth, Allah would have known about it because nothing ever escapes His knowledge,

(or is it (just) a show of words) or doubts expressed in words, according to Mujahid, while Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said, false words. Allah says, you (polytheists) worshipped the idols because you thought that they had power to bring benefit or harm, and this is why you called them gods,

(They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord!)ï´¿53:23ï´¾ Allah said next,

(Nay! To those who disbelieved, their plotting is made fair seeming,) or their words, according to Mujahid. This Ayah refers to the misguidance of the polytheists and their propagation night and day. Allah said in another Ayah,

(And We have assigned for them (devils) intimate companions, who have made fair-seeming to them.) Allah said next,

(and they have been hindered from the right path;) Some read with Fatha over the Sad (i.e. wa Saddu), which would mean, `and they hindered from the right path, feeling fond of the misguidance they are in, thinking that it is correct, they called to it and thus hindered the people from following the path of the Messengers.' Others read it with Damma over the Sad (i.e. wa Suddu), which would mean, `and they have been hindered from the right path,' explained it this way: because they thought that their way looked fair or correct, they were hindered by it from the right path, so Allah said,

(and whom Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide.) Allah said in similar instances,

(And whomsoever Allah wants to suffer a trial, you can do nothing for him against Allah.) ï´¿5:41ï´¾, and,

(If you covet for their guidance, then verily, Allah guides not those whom He makes to go astray. And they will have no helpers.)ï´¿16:37ï´¾