The Secret of the Futility of Worshipping Other Than God

One of the characteristics of worship (ʿibāda) is that its performance is beneficial and its abandonment is harmful. For this reason, some people worship God out of fear of Hell and some to reach Paradise.(116) Therefore, if the worship of a being lacking these two characteristics were to occur—that is, neither worshipping it is beneficial nor abandoning its worship brings harm—such an act is futile (laghw), because that being which became worshipped lacks these two aspects. Whether that being is human or non-human—such as stone and wood—and whether it is rational or irrational. The expression of the verse under discussion regarding such a deity with the word “what” (mā), which is usually used for the irrational, can refer to the ineffectiveness of other than God in delivering benefit or in repelling harm.