﴿ قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ شُرَكَآءَكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌۭ فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ أَمْ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمْ كِتَٰبًۭا فَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَتٍۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ بَلْ إِن يَعِدُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضًا إِلَّا غُرُورًا ﴾

“Say: “Have you ever [really] considered those beings and forces to whom you ascribe a share in God’s divinity, [and] whom you invoke beside God? Show me what it is that they have created on earth - or do [you claim that] they have a share in [govern­ing] the heavens?” Have We ever vouchsafed them a divine writ on which they could rely as evidence [in support of their views]? Nay, [the hope which] the evildoers hold out to one another [is] nothing but a delusion.”

Commentary The word: خَلَائِفَ (khala'if) in verse 39: هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (He is the One who has made you successors (of the past generations) in the earth.) is the plural of: خَلِیفَہ (khalifah) which means deputy or vice-regent. The general sense is that Allah Ta’ ala has let human beings have lands and houses that keep passing on from one to the other. In this phenomena, there is a great lesson - turn to Allah. Then, the statement could also be taken to have been addressed to the ummah of the Holy Prophet t saying, 'After past communities, We made you take their place with authority to make life better around you, so it is your duty that you learn your lesson from what happened to people earlier than you, and hence you, on your part, do not while away precious moments of your life in negligence.