And when the context clearly guided to the estimation: there is no partner for Him in anything of that, nor His offspring, and no one among them can refrain from returning to Him, just as no one can fend off His decree and destiny. He then added to it His saying: ﴿And they do not possess﴾ meaning in any way at any time ﴿those who invoke﴾ meaning they place them in the position of invocation by worshiping them, and between the lowliness of their rank by His saying, the Most High: ﴿besides Him﴾ from the lowest rank of His ranks, from the idols, angels, humans, and others. ﴿intercession﴾ meaning there will be no intercessor from them, as they claimed that they are their intercessors. ﴿except one who bears witness﴾ meaning from them ﴿to the truth﴾ meaning the oneness that corresponds to reality when it is fully revealed, and likewise what follows it, for he will be worthy of intercession, like the angels and the Messiah, blessings and peace be upon them. The meaning is that their idols, which they claimed would intercede for them, do not intercede, except that He, the Most High, conveyed it in the most eloquent manner, for it is like a claim.

And when that is ingrained even in the innate nature of the disbelievers, they do not call upon anyone in times of hardship except Allah. However, they do not cease to act with polytheism that contradicts that, as if they have no knowledge. He said: ﴿And they﴾ or while the state is that (p-496) whoever bears witness ﴿know﴾ meaning with insight from what they have witnessed, therefore they do not act contrary to what they have witnessed except out of ignorance of them regarding the realization of the meaning of oneness. Therefore, they think that they have not deviated from it even if they have committed polytheism, or the meaning could be: and they are among the people of knowledge, and the idols are not like that. It is as if he first singled out the indication that oneness is an individual obligation upon everyone specifically, even if everyone else contradicts it, and secondly gathered to indicate the command of what is right so that all may unite upon knowledge, and oneness is the foundation upon which no worship is valid except by it, and its realization is the knowledge that no knowledge is equivalent to it. Al-Razi said in Al-Lawa'ih: and all the sects have gone astray because they did not recognize the meaning of the One in the manner that it should be, for the One may be the origin of number, and it may be mixed with number, and it may be associated with number, and Allah, the Most High, is exalted above these singularities - this has ended.

So in the verse, there is a rebuke for them in that they affirm oneness at times, but when the One they affirmed saves them, they make their gratitude to Him in times of ease a form of polytheism with Him, and He has prevented them from claiming this rank, which is the testimony to the truth, because they have detached themselves through their polytheism from knowledge. And the angels do not intercede for them because that would lead to them having acted contrary to what they know, and that results in detachment (p-497) from the knowledge that qualifies for intercession. Ibn al-Jawzi said: and in the verse, there is evidence that the condition for all testimonies is that the witness must be knowledgeable about what he bears witness to.