Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "They are nothing but names which you have named"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. In the saying of Allah[An-Najm 53:23], is this specific to al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, or is it general for everything the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) worship and call gods, such as the gods of India and others?
Answer:
It is general for everything[Yusuf 12:40] is [Yusuf 12:40]. The criterion is the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. In the saying of Allah
They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority.
إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا أَسْمَاءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا أَنتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُم مَّا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَانٍAnswer:
It is general for everything
You worship not besides Him except
مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِهِ إِلَّا[mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority
أَسْمَاءً سَمَّيْتُمُوهَا أَنتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُم مَّا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَانٍ
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، فصل فإذا عرف أن كل حركة فأصلها الحب والإرادة ... — islamhouse.com (59:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.