His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And indeed, Iblis has confirmed his assumption about them, so they followed him except for a group of the believers." "And he had no authority over them except to know who believes in the Hereafter from among those who are in doubt. And your Lord is, over all things, Guardian." "Say, 'Invoke those whom you claim besides Allah. They do not possess the weight of a mustard seed in the heavens or in the earth. And they have no share in either of them, nor is there for Him any supporter.'" (p-181) Nafi', Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: "And indeed, Iblis has confirmed" with a lightening of the letter 'dāl', "Iblis" in the nominative, "his assumption" in the accusative as a source. It is said: it is in the circumstantial case, meaning: in his assumption. It is also said: it is in the accusative as a direct object, meaning that when he assumed, he acted in a way that confirms that assumption. So it is as if he intended for his assumption to be true. This is similar to your saying: "I was wrong in my assumption and I was right in my assumption." As for 'Āsim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisā'ī, they read: "has confirmed" with a strengthening of the letter 'dāl', and "the assumption" - in this case - is the direct object of "has confirmed". This is the reading of Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Talhah, [and 'Āsim] and Al-A'mash. Al-Zuhri, Abu Al-Hajhāj, and Bilal ibn Abi Burdah read: "has confirmed" with a lightening of the letter 'dāl', "Iblis" in the accusative, "his assumption" in the nominative. A group read: "has confirmed" with a lightening of the letter 'dāl', "Iblis" in the nominative, "his assumption" in the nominative as a substitution, which is a substitution of inclusion. The meaning of the verse is that what Iblis said about misleading the children of Adam and that Allah would find most of them ungrateful, and other than that was an assumption from him, and he was truthful about them. And Allah, exalted and majestic is He, informed that they followed him, and this following is in disbelief; because it is in the story of a disbelieving people. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "from among those who are in doubt" indicates that. And "from" in His saying: "from the believers" is for the clarification of the type, not for the part; because parting would imply that a group of the believers followed Iblis. And "the authority": is the proof, and it may be the dominance and the ability; since the term is derived from domination. And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: By Allah, he had neither a whip nor a sword, but he attracted them, and they inclined towards him by his adornment. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "except to know" means: to know it as existing; because the knowledge of it is prior. And a group read: "except to know" with a 'yā' in the passive.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Say, 'Invoke those whom you assert'" is a verse of incapacitation and establishment of proof. It is narrated that this was revealed during the famine that afflicted Quraysh. The majority read "Say, 'Invoke'" with a dammah on the lam, while Abbas narrated from Abu Amr: "Say, 'Invoke'" with a kasrah on the lam. He means by "those" the angels and the idols; this is because some of Quraysh and the Arabs worshipped the angels, and some said: 'We worship them so that they may intercede for us,' and similar to this. So this verse was revealed as a challenge to each of them. Then it came with the description of those whom they call deities, that they do not possess the power of creation, not even an atom's weight in the heavens or in the earth, and that they have no share in it. These two encompass the types of ownership: either tyranny or partnership. So He negated all of that from them, and He negated that there is any helper among them for Allah in anything of His power. And "the helper" means "the supporter." Then it was established in the verse afterwards that those who think they intercede for them have no valid intercession for them; for these are disbelievers, and Allah does not permit intercession for a disbeliever.