His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And those whom they invoke besides Him do not possess intercession except for one who has testified to the truth while he knows." "And if you were to ask them who created them, they would surely say, 'Allah.' So how are they deluded?" "And it is said, 'O my Lord, indeed these are a people who do not believe.'" "So turn away from them and say, 'Peace.' Soon they will know."

His saying, the Most High: "And those whom they invoke..." The verse addresses Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. "Those" refers to the deities worshipped, and the pronoun in "they invoke" refers to the disbelievers who worship others besides Allah, the Most High. Thus, the Most High informed that everyone who worships others besides Allah does not possess intercession with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. The majority read: "they invoke" with a yā' from below. Ibn Waththāb read: "you invoke" with a tā' from above. Then the Most High made an exception from this news, and people differed regarding the exception. Qatadah said: The exception is from those who were worshipped besides Allah: 'Isa, Uzayr, and the angels, peace be upon them. The meaning is that they possess intercession by which Allah, the Most High, enables them, as they are among those who have testified to the truth while they know in all their conditions. Thus, the exception - according to this interpretation - is connected. Mujahid and others said: The exception is for those who are interceded for, as if he said: These angels, Uzayr, and 'Isa do not intercede except for one who has testified to the truth while they know of the oneness of Allah. Thus, the exception - according to this interpretation - is separate, as if the Most High said: But whoever has testified to the truth, these will intercede for them. The first interpretation is more correct, and Allah, the Most High, knows best.

Then Allah, the Most High, manifested the proof against them from their own words and their acknowledgment that Allah, the Most High, is their Creator and the One who brought them into existence after non-existence. Then He confronted them - in a manner of reprimand and rebuke - with His saying: ﴿So how are they being turned away?﴾, meaning: To what direction are they being diverted? The majority of the reciters read: ﴿ 'And His saying, O Lord' ﴾ with the accusative case, which is a source like the word 'saying', and the pronoun in it refers to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Al-Makki reported a saying that it refers to Jesus, peace be upon him, which is weak. The people differed regarding the one who is in the accusative case. One group said: It is conjoined to His saying, the Most High: ﴿Their secret and their whispering﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 80]. Another group said: The verb in it is 'they write', meaning: their sayings and actions and His saying. Another group said: The one in the accusative case is what is in His saying, the Most High: ﴿And with Him is knowledge of the Hour﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 85] from the strength of the action, meaning: and He knows His saying. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And His saying, O Lord﴾ is like the complaint of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and his seeking help from their disbelief and transgression. Al-Asim, Hamzah, Ibn Wathab, and Al-A'mash read: 'And His saying, O Lord' with the genitive case, conjoined to 'the Hour'. Al-A'raj, Abu Qilabah, and Mujahid read: 'And His saying, O Lord' with the nominative case as a subject, and the news is in His saying: ﴿O Lord, indeed these are a people who do not believe﴾, meaning: His saying this saying, or it could be that the estimation is: 'And His saying, O Lord' is heard and accepted, so 'O Lord' - on this - is in the accusative case due to 'His saying'. Abu Qilabah read: 'O Lord' with the opening of the doubled letter, meaning: O Lord, according to the language of those who say: O boy, then he omitted the alif for ease and following the script of the Mus'haf.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿So turn away from them﴾ is a reconciliation abrogated by the verses of the sword, and His saying, the Most High: ﴿ 'Peace' ﴾ means: And say, my affair is peace, meaning: reconciliation. One group said: The meaning is: And say, peace be upon you, in a manner of reconciliation and gentleness, and the abrogation has come upon this peace, whether it was a greeting or an expression of reconciliation. The majority of the reciters read: 'They know' with the 'ya'. Nafi', Ibn Amer - in the narration of Hisham from him - Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, and Abu Ja'far read: 'You know' with the 'ta' from above.

The interpretation of Surah Az-Zukhruf is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.