Do the Qur'anic verses that speak about polytheism (shirk), such as His saying, the Most High: "Indeed, those whom you call upon besides Allah are servants like unto yourselves. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful," (7:194) and "And [mention, O Muhammad], the Day We will gather them all together, then We will say to those who associated others [with Allah], 'Remain in your place, you and your 'partners,''" (10:28), only address idol worship, or do they also include the worship of graves and saints, and seeking help from other than Allah? And are idols servants of Allah, and will they be resurrected and held accountable on the Day of Resurrection?
The summary of the answer: Servitude here means ownership. Idols are owned by Allah Almighty, like all creation. Idols were called "servants" despite being inanimate objects either because the disbelievers attributed harm and benefit to them, or because they are owned and created by Allah. The term "servant" can also be applied to all created beings. Furthermore, calling idols "servants" was to demonstrate that both the disbelievers and the idols are creatures of Allah who possess no power to benefit or harm themselves, and that they are incapable of responding to prayers, which indicates the idols' helplessness and the polytheists' inability to establish their argument.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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