25:43 Al-Furqaan (The Criterion)

وهل فوق ضلال من جعل إلهه معبوده [هواه] فما هويه فعله فلهذا قال: { أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ } ألا تعجب من حاله وتنظر ما هو فيه من الضلال؟ وهو يحكم لنفسه بالمنازل الرفيعة؟ { أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا } أي: لست عليه بمسيطر مسلط بل إنما أنت منذر، وقد قمت بوظيفتك وحسابه على الله.

"أرأيت من اتخذ إلهه هواه" أي مهما استحسن من شيء ورآه حسنا في هوى نفسه كان دينه ومذهبه كما قال تعالى: "أفمن زين له سوء عمله فرآه حسنا فإن الله يضل من يشاء" الآية ولهذا قال ههنا "أفأنت تكون عليه وكيلا" قال ابن عباس كان الرجل في الجاهلية يعبد الحجر الأبيض زمانا فإذا رأى غيره أحسن منه عبد الثاني وترك الأول.

How the Disbelievers mocked the Messenger

Allah tells us how the disbelievers mocked the Messenger when they saw him. This is like the Ayah,

وَإِذَا رَآكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً

(And when the disbelievers see you, they take you not except for mockery) (21:36), which means that they tried to find faults and shortcomings in him. Here Allah says:

وَإِذَا رَأَوْكَ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً أَهَـذَا الَّذِى بَعَثَ اللَّهُ رَسُولاً

(And when they see you, they treat you only in mockery (saying): "Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a Messenger") i.e., they said this by way of belittling and trying to undermine him, so Allah put them in their place, and said:

وَلَقَدِ اسْتُهْزِىءَ بِرُسُلٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ

(And indeed Messengers before you were mocked at) (6:10)

إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ ءَالِهَتِنَا

(He would have nearly misled us from our gods,) They meant: `he nearly turned us away from worshipping idols, and he would have done so, had we not been patient and persevered in our ways.' So Allah said, warning and threatening them:

وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ

(And they will know, when they see the torment...)

They took Their Desires as their gods and were more astray than Cattle

Then Allah tells His Prophet that if Allah decrees that someone will be misguided and wretched, then no one can guide him except Allah, glory be to Him:

أَرَءَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَـهَهُ هَوَاهُ

(Have you seen him who has taken as his god his own vain desire) meaning, whatever he admires and sees as good in his own desires becomes his religion and his way. As Allah says:

أَفَمَن زُيِّنَ لَهُ سُوءَ عَمَلِهِ فَرَءَاهُ حَسَناً فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُضِلُّ مَن يَشَآءُ

(Is he then, to whom the evil of his deeds is made fair seeming. So that he consider it as good. Verily, Allah sends astray whom he wills.) 35:8

أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلاً

(Would you then be a guardian over him) Ibn `Abbas said: "During the Jahiliyyah, a man would worship a white rock for a while, then if he saw another that looked better, he would worship that and leave the first." Then Allah said:

أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ

(Or do you think that most of them hear or understand) meaning, they are worse than grazing cattle. Cattle only do what they were created to do, but these people were created to worship Allah Alone without associating partners with Him, but they worship others with Him, even though evidence has been established against them and Messengers have been sent to them.

Have you seen — inform Me about — him who has taken as his god his own desire? that is as something that will be bring about his ruin the indirect object ilāhahu ‘as his god’ precedes the direct object because it is more important; the clause beginning man ittakhadha ‘him who has taken’ constitutes the first direct object of a-ra’ayta ‘have you seen’ the second being the following a-fa-anta … Will you be a guardian over him? a protector to preserve him from following his desires? No.

Following forbidden things - a type of idolatry

أَرَ‌أَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ (Tell me about the one who has taken his desire as his god - 25:43). The one who practises forbidden things which are against the tenets of Islam to satisfy his personal desires is described in this verse as the worshiper of his own lust. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that the selfish desires are like an idol which is worshipped (by the infidels) and then he recited this verse to prove his point. (Qurtubi)