Names assigned without a preceding reality

Names normally label an existing reality. Here, the “names” were coined for what does not exist. The realities were invented first, and then names like Al-Laat, Al-‘Uzzaa, and Al-Manaat were attached to them. They are figments with no substantiation.

سَمَّى — To name and to invoke

سَمَّى can mean “to name” and also “to invoke by name” as in: سَمِّ اللهَ “Invoke Allah’s name”. Thus, the verse carries: “They are nothing but names you invoke.”

The critique targets the emptiness of manufactured labels and the act of invoking them.

Direct censure upon the followers

Although forefathers originated the names, the verse places “you” before “your forefathers” to censure blind continuation. The audience is invited to think rather than inherit unexamined beliefs.

أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى

“Have you not seen Al-Laat and Al-‘Uzzaa?” — an invitation to reason.

• Blame applies to everyone engaging in Shirk or sin; it is not transferred to previous generations.
• تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
  That was a nation which has passed on. It will have what it earned, and you will have what you have earned. And you will not be asked about what they used to do (Al-Baqarah: 134).
• Each generation must think, question, and accept upon evidence. When Islam is inherited without thought, corruption creeps in—additions accumulate until fundamentals are lost.

مَّا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَانٍ

The letter بِ here implies “with/attached to” (الإلصاق): these names never came attached to any authority. In contrast, the Prophet ﷺ speaks with attached authority via Jibreel عليه السلام:

قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ

“The distance of two bow lengths or (even) closer” (An-Najm: 9).

The verse shifts from second person (“you named…”) to third person (“they follow…”) signaling abandonment—no longer addressing directly, but speaking about them—while also informing the Prophet ﷺ and believers of their state.

الظَّنّ (assumption/speculation) is intellectual; هَوَى (what the selves love) is emotional. The conjunction can be explanatory (عطف البيان): desires drive and dictate assumptions. Greed and ego can corrupt reasoning.

هَوَى means to fall, implying love for lowly things that please the self—not higher ideals like truth and justice. Their ultimate “god” becomes the self’s wants; idols project those wants.

• Assumptions rooted in emotion cannot be corrected by proofs alone; the underlying emotions must be addressed.
• Selective outrage over parts of religion reflects following the self: letting emotions dictate the Deen, rather than the Deen shaping emotions.

Today there is an explosion of ideas and philosophies redefining justice, gender, family, morality, freedom, and even reality. Assumptions are innumerable, rooted in what the selves desire (مَا تَهْوَى الْأَنفُسُ), driven by agendas and wants rather than pursuit of truth.

Many follow religion as heritage, culture, or majority comfort rather than evidence. The verse exposes such un-evidenced naming and following, contrasting it with divinely anchored authority.

Allah has been sending guidance, and now the ultimate guidance (الْهُدَى) has come plainly—like a new sun. Remaining upon conjecture and desire has no excuse when clear guidance is present.

The verse itself sets a juxtaposition: their following of assumptions and desires, alongside the arrival of الْهُدَى. It highlights the unreasonable persistence upon baseless ideas when truth is manifest.