And when their condition in questioning was to reject the weak in order to follow their desires, Allah, the Most High, commanded him to inform them that he is distinct from them. This is after He made clear to him, with clear explanation, the evil consequence of their path. It is a distinction that cannot coexist with following their desires, and it is the distinction in religion. So he said: ﴿Say, 'Indeed, I have been forbidden'﴾ meaning: by the One who has all authority ﴿to worship those whom you call upon﴾ meaning: you worship based on mere desire and imitation in the greatest fundamentals of religion. He belittled their matter and clarified the low status of them by saying: ﴿besides Allah﴾ meaning: the One who is greater than Him does not exist. You have indeed fallen into abandoning the greatest and adhering to that which is lesser, which is lesser than you in the greatest ignorance that leads to the blindness of the heart along with disbelief in the Benefactor. Thus, my distinction is based on severance, so how can you hope for following! Then he confirmed that with another command indicating that there is no doubt for them in their worship. He said: ﴿Say, 'I do not follow your desires'﴾ meaning: in exchange for what I am upon of profound wisdom supported by clear proofs and decisive evidence.

And when it is known that desire does not call to guidance, but rather to the utmost of ruin, he confirmed what this sentence implied by saying: ﴿Indeed, I have gone astray then﴾ meaning: if I follow your desires. And since the misguided may return, he clarified that this is not the case for them due to their deep-rootedness in misguidance. He said, expressing it with a nominal sentence indicating stability: ﴿And I am not﴾ meaning: at that time upon anything of guidance to be counted among ﴿the rightly guided﴾.