Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) explained this noble verse; he said that the idols which Allah, the Exalted, mentioned – which the people of Nūh worshiped generations after generations after Nūh (peace be upon him) had prohibited them from polytheism – are originally names of pious men. They, however, extolled them extremely. So Satan deceived them until they made statues, which eventually led to those statues being worshiped.
- Immoderate reverence of pious people can lead to worshiping them apart from Allah and eventually abandoning the religion altogether.
- It warns of creating and hanging images, especially the images of great figures.
- It warns against the cunning of Satan and his way of presenting falsehood under the guise of the truth.
- We are warned of religious innovations, even if they are done with a good intention.
- Making images is one of the means that lead to polytheism. So, we should beware of making images of living beings.
- It indicates the worth of knowledge and the harm of losing it.
- The loss of knowledge is caused by the death of scholars.
- It warns against imitation and points out that it can lead to deviation from Islam.
- Polytheism existed in the past nations.
- These five names mentioned in the Hadīth belong to some objects of worship taken by the people of Nūh (Noah).
- It shows how the people of falsehood cooperate together and support one another.
- It is permissible to supplicate against the disbelievers in general.
-الملخص في شرح كتاب التوحيد، دار العاصمة، الرياض، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ - 2001م. -الجديد في شرح كتاب التوحيد، مكتبة السوادي، جدة، المملكة العربية السعودية، الطبعة: الخامسة، 1424هـ - 2003م. -صحيح البخاري، المحقق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، الناشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422هـ.