Surah An-Nahl · سُوْرَةُ النَّحْلِ · Juz 14
Q 16:20
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْـًٔا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ
Translations
And those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created.Et ceux qu'ils invoquent en dehors d'Allah ne créent rien, et ils sont eux-mêmes créés.Tafsir
Those whom the idolaters worship besides Allah, do not create anything no matter how little. Those who worship them besides Allah are the ones who make them. How do they worship besides Allah those idols which they make with their own hands?!
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal (19)Those whom they invoke besides Allah have not created anything, but are themselves created (20)(They are) dead, not alive; and they do not know when they will be resurrected (21)
Allah tells us that He knows what is hidden in people's hearts as well as what is apparent. He will reward or punish everyone for their deeds on the Day of Resurrection. If their deeds are good then they will be rewarded, and if their deeds are evil, then they will be punished.
The gods of the Idolators are Created, they do not create
Then Allah tells us that the idols which people call on instead of Him cannot create anything, they are themselves created, as Al-Khalil (Ibrahim) said:
أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ - وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
("Do you worship that which you (yourselves) carve? While Allah has created you and what you make!")(37:95-96)
أَمْوَاتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَاءٍ
((They are) dead, not alive) means, they are inanimate and lifeless, they do not hear, see, or think.
وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ
(and they know not when they will be resurrected.) meaning, they do not know when the Hour will come, so how can anyone hope for any benefit or reward from these idols They should hope for it from the One Who knows all things and is the Creator of all things.
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net