His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, you and what you worship besides Allah are the fuel of Hell. You will surely enter it. If these were gods, they would not enter it, and each one is in it abiding forever." This is an address to the disbelievers of Mecca, meaning: indeed, you and your idols are the fuel of Hell. "The fuel" is what is used to ignite the fire, either because it is thrown into it, or it may be a term for firewood when it is thrown. However, before it is thrown, it is not called fuel except by extension. The majority read: "fuel" with a pronounced ص (sad), while Ibn al-Samifah pronounced it with a sukoon (no vowel); this is based on the rhythm of the source in the position of the name of the object. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Aisha, and Ibn al-Zubair, may Allah be pleased with them, read: "firewood of Hell" with a ط (ta). Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "the fuel of Hell" with a ض (dad) pronounced open, and many others pronounced it with a sukoon. The fuel is also what is thrown into the fire to ignite it, and the محضب [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: muhdhab] is the stick that is used to stir the fire or the metal tool similar to it. From this is the saying of al-A'sha: "So do not be in our war a محضب [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: muhdhab] to make your people divided into different tribes." His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "and what you worship" refers to the idols, and He burned them in the fire as a means of reproach to their worshippers. As for the placement of "what" for those who understand, in some places, Abdullah ibn al-Zubair objected to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, saying: "Indeed, Jesus and Uzair and others were worshipped besides Allah, so they must be fuel for Hell." Then the verse was revealed: "Indeed, those for whom the best reward has preceded from Us" [Al-Anbiya: 101]. Then the matter was confirmed by referring to the idols that he showed in His saying: "what you worship," saying: "If these were gods, they would not enter it." He referred to the idols with "these" as they are among them in the state of one who understands. And "the entering" in this verse is the entering of entrance.