The Meaning of the Saying of Allah the Exalted: "It was a great thing for the polytheists that you call them to."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: [Ash-Shuraa 42:13] This means "it was great." And what are you calling them to? It is tawhid (the oneness of Allah). The call to tawhid is a great and massive thing for the polytheists because it contradicts their objective. They say: I swear by Allah, is the amazing thing that one makes another god alongside Allah, or is the amazing thing that one makes Allah one? The first or the second?
The student: The first.
The Shaykh : The first. But these polytheists, Allah has turned their hearts upside down and corrupted their fitrah (innate natural disposition), so they said: So we say, I swear by Allah, the amazing thing is what you have gone to, which is the multiplicity of gods. Allah Glorified and Exalted is He is one God with no partner.
Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them
كبر على المشركين ما تدعوهم إليهIt was a great thing
كبرShall I make the gods one God? This is indeed something amazing
أجعل الآلهة إلهاً واحداً إن هذا لشيء عجابThe student: The first.
The Shaykh : The first. But these polytheists, Allah has turned their hearts upside down and corrupted their fitrah (innate natural disposition), so they said: