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fa-lā taku fī miryatin mimmā yaʿbudu hāʾulāʾi mā yaʿbudūna ʾillā ka-mā yaʿbudu ʾābāʾuhum min qablu wa-ʾinnā la-muwaffūhum naṣībahum ghayra manqūṣin
So do not be in doubt about what these worship: they worship just as their fathers worshiped before, and We shall surely pay them their full share, undiminished.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Hud – Verse 109
109. “So be not then in doubt as to what these (men) worship. They worship nothing but what their fathers worshipped before (them), and verily We shall pay them back (in full) their portion undiminished.”
One result which can be inferred from the stories of the previous generations is that the prophets and those following them, those who were truly faithful, should not fear the abundance of the enemies and with no hesitation try to defeat the unjust idol worshippers they are confronted because the helps of Allah are certain. Therefore, He says to His Prophet that he should not have the shadow of a doubt as to what these people worship for they only follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and do not, in fact, really worship anything at all.
Thus their destiny is no better than that of their forefathers. They shall be compensated in full and Allah will not give them short of what is their due (of punishment). And were they to return to the true path, their share of Allah’s reward will be preserved. The verse says:
“So be not then in doubt as to what these (men) worship. They worship nothing but what their fathers worshipped before (them), and verily We shall pay them back (in full) their portion undiminished.”
In actual fact, this verse depicts that whatever we have read about past generations had not been fairy tales or myths and their realities have not been confined to only the previous generations. They constitute eternal examples for all men, past, present, and future, though they may take place in different circumstances and with different forms. In the meantime, though this sublime verse is addressed to the Prophet (S), it targets the people so that they may not be in doubt or be hesitant.