And when victory has two causes; an apparent one, which is gathering; and an intrinsic one, which is the deity agreed upon; He clarified their mistake by neglecting hope. So He said - resuming in response to one who seemed to say: Did they attain what they wanted? -: ﴿They are not able﴾; meaning: the deities taken; ﴿to help them﴾; meaning: the worshippers; ﴿and they﴾; meaning: the worshippers; ﴿for them﴾; meaning: the deities; ﴿are a host﴾; and since the host is shared between the army, the supporters, and the city, He specified the intended meaning by the pronoun of the plural. This is because it is more indicative of their inability and their insignificance. So He said: ﴿They are present﴾; meaning: they act in gathering to it and defending it, like one who is compelled to take possession of the kingdom and the governance of greatness. Thus, the lesson from them became specific in obtaining the apparent cause, along with their worship of the incapable and their humiliation before the weak. This is despite what they claim of bravery, pride, and greatness. If they had united themselves in worship of Allah, it would have been for them, and they would have attained with Him the greatest cause.