Transliteration:( 'A lahum arjuluny yamshoona bihaa 'am lahum 'aidiny yabtishoona bihaaa 'am lahum a'yunuy yubsiroona bihaaa 'am lahum aazaanuny yasma'oona bihaa; qulid'oo shurakaaa'akum thumma keedooni falaa tunziroon )
Have they feet to walk with? Or have they hands with which to hold? Or have they eyes with which to see? Or have they ears with which to hear? Say: "Call upon your associates and then try your tricks on me and give me no respite" [450].
This verse poses a series of rhetorical questions to expose the absolute powerlessness of idols. Do they walk, grasp, see, or hear? The answer is clearly no. The purpose is not to say that anything possessing these faculties becomes worthy of worship—for even monkeys and cows possess such traits. Rather, it emphasizes that stones, trees, and lifeless idols, which lack even basic sensory abilities, are utterly unfit to be worshipped.
This verse leaves no room for doubt: if you possess powers that these idols lack, how can you consider them superior or divine? It may also suggest that since they are powerless and harmless, they cannot bring harm to anyone, debunking the fear idolaters associate with them.
The verse then shifts to a bold challenge from the Prophet ﷺ: call all your so-called deities and combine your efforts against me—but don’t delay. This illustrates the unshakable courage granted by Allah to His Prophets, who, even when alone, stand firm against entire nations and false systems.
This courage exposed the cowardice of false claimants, like Mirza Ghulam Qadiyani, who, despite claiming prophethood, feared people to the extent that he never performed Hajj. In contrast, the true Prophet ﷺ faced his opponents openly, confident in the Divine support backing him.
The tafsir of Surah Al-A’raf verse 195 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah A’raf ayat 191 which provides the complete commentary from verse 191 through 198.
(7:195) Have they feet on which they can walk? Have they hands with which they can grasp? Have they eyes with which they can see? Have they ears with which they can hear?[148] Say [O Muhammad]: ‘Invoke all those to whom you ascribe a share in Allah’s divinity, then scheme against me and grant me no respite.
148. Polytheistic religions seem to have three characteristics: (1) idols and images that are held as objects of worship; (2) some persons and spirits that are considered deities represented in the form of idols and images, etc.; and (3) certain beliefs which underlie their polytheistic rites. The Qur’an denounces all these. At this place, however, the attack is directed against the objects to which the polytheists directed their worship.
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