وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهُ حَفِيظٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (6)
(42:6) Those who have taken others than Him as their protectors beside Him, *6 it is Allah Who oversees them; you are no guardian over them. *7
*6) The word auliya (sing. wall) as used in the Text is very comprehensive in meaning. The different beliefs and all sorts of diverse practices with regard to the false deities held and worshipped by the polytheistic people, have been described as "taking others as auliya' (guardians) instead of Allah" in the Qur'an. According to the Qur'an, a person takes such a one his wati: (1) whom he obeys in all matters, whose instructions he carries out and Whose ways and customs and rules he follows in all affairs of life (An-Nisa: 118-120; ALA'raf: 3, 27-30); (2) in whose guidance he has full faith, and who he thinks will lead him aright and save him from error and deviation (Al-Baqarah: 257, Bani Isra'il: 97, Al-Kahf: 17-50, AI-Jathiah: 19); (3) about whom he trusts he will protect him from the torment of God in the Hereafter if it really existed (An Nisa: 123, 173; Al-An'am: 51, Ar-Ra'd: 37, AI-'Ankabut: 22, AI-Ahzab: 65, Az-Zumar: 3); (4) about whom he has the belief that he helps him in the world in supernatural ways, protects him from disaster and afflictions, gets him jobs, blesses him with children, and fulfils his desires and aII other needs. (Hud: 20, Ar-Ra'd: 16, Al-`Ankabut: 4l).
At some places in the Qur'an the word wati has been used in one of these senses and at hers in all its meanings. The verse being commented upon is one of such verses. In it, taking others as guardians instead of Allah implies regarding them as one's patron and supporter and helper in all the four about-mentioned meanings.
*7) "Allah is watching them": Allah sees whatever they arc doing and is recording their conduct. It is His responsibility to call them to account and punish them. As for the words "You are not responsible for their conduct", these have been addressed to the Holy Prophet. They mean: "Their destiny has not been placed under yow control so that you may burn to ashes anyone who does not listen to you, or depose him from power, or annihilate him." This, however, dces not mean that, God forbid, the Holy Prophet regarded himself as such, and this was said in order to remove his misunderstanding or self-conceit, but this was meant for the disbelievers. Although apparently the Holy Prophet himself is the addressee, the real object is to tell the disbelievers that the Prophet of Allah has made no such claims as were usually made by their so-called saints who posed to possess great spiritual powers. Among the ignorant people it is generally thought that the so-called "holy men" have the power to ruin the destiny of anyone who behaves insolently towards them in any way; so much so that even after their death if somebody happened to dishonor their grave, or if nothing else, only nursed an evil thought about them in his mind, they destroyed him completely. Such a thought is in most casts spread by the "holy men" themselves. As for the good men who do not themselves say any such thing, their names are exploited by some other clever people, who spread such thoughts about them in order to promote their business. In any case this is regarded as a necessary corollary of spirituality and piety among the common people that one should possess the powers of making and marring destinies. To destroy the spell of this same fraud, Allah is addressing His Holy Messenger, as if to tell the disbelievers: "You are no doubt Our Messenger and We have blessed you with Our Revelations, but yow duty is only to guide the people to the Right Path. Their destinies have not boon placed under yow control; they arc in Our hand; therefore, to watch over the deeds and acts of the servants and to punish or not to punish them is Our own responsibility."