His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And indeed you have come to Us individually as We created you the first time, and you have left behind what We granted you, behind your backs, and We do not see with you your intercessors whom you claimed were partners for you. Certainly, the bond between you has been severed, and what you used to assert has gone astray." This is a narration of what will be said to them after the taking of their souls; either at the time of their departure from their bodies, or on the Day of Resurrection; all of this is possible. And "individually" means: one by one; and the 'a' at the end is the feminine marker; and from this is the saying of the poet: "You see the blue banners beneath his lap, individually and in pairs, weakened by the waves." Abu Haywah read: "individually" with tanween, in the form of "fu'alan"; and this is the dialect of Tamim; and "individually" is said to be the plural of "farad" with a fatḥa on the ra, and it is said to be the plural of "fard" with a sukun on the ra; and the intent in the verse is to stop the disbelievers at their being alone, and the scarcity of supporters, and their need for Allah - glorified and exalted is He - due to the loss of the grants and intercessors. So His saying - exalted is He - "as We created you the first time" is a comparison to the original individuality at the time of creation; and another meaning is directed, which is that His saying - exalted is He - "as We created you" contains additional meanings to individuality, as if He said: "And indeed you have come to Us individually; and in such and such states." The reference here is in His saying - exalted is He - "as"; it refers to what the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - said regarding the description of those who will be gathered that they will be gathered barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised. And "We granted you" means: We gave you; and Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala used to recite the verse of Zuhayr: "There, if they are asked for wealth, they give; and if they are asked, they give; and if they are made easy, they become stingy." "Behind your backs" refers to the world, as they leave that which is present. And His saying - exalted is He - "And We do not see with you your intercessors"; the verse is a stopping point on the error in the worship of idols and their glorification. Al-Tabari said: It has been narrated that this verse was revealed about Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith; because he said: "The idols Al-Lat and Al-Uzza will intercede for me." Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And whoever among the Arabs believes that they intercede and bring him closer to Allah - exalted is He - in this way, then they are addressed by the verse in a firm manner; and this was the case for the majority; and whoever among them does not acknowledge a deity other than them is not included in this verse.

Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, Ibn Amer, and Hamzah read "between you" with a raised ending. Nafi and Al-Kisai read "between you" with a lowered ending. As for the raised ending, it has several explanations. The first is that the adverbial phrase is used as a noun, and the verb is attributed to it, just as they have used it as a noun in His saying, the Exalted, "Indeed, between us and you is a barrier"; and like their saying as reported by Sibawayh: "Red between the eyes". Abu Ali Al-Farisi preferred this saying. The other explanation is that some of the interpreters, among them Al-Zahrawi, Al-Mahdawi, Abu Al-Fath, and others, reported that "the bayn" in the language is said for both separation and connection; as if he said: "Indeed, your connection has been severed."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In this, there is an objection to me because this has not been narrated as heard from the Arabs; rather, it has been derived from the verse, and the verse is ambiguous. Al-Khalil said in "Al-Ayn": "And the bayn is the connection, due to His saying, the Mighty and Majestic: 'Indeed, your connection has been severed.'" He justified the use of the term by the verse, and the verse is subject to other interpretations. However, Abu Al-Fath strengthened that "the bayn" is the connection, and he said: "Indeed, some of the narrators have perfected this with his saying: 'The bayn has been justly divided from the bayn.'" The third explanation for the raised ending is that "the bayn" is based on its original meaning of separation, from "ban, yabinu"; if it is far, and in His saying, the Exalted, "severed"; it is a metaphor in the manner of what is said about something far in distance: "The paths have been severed between such and such," expressing the distance of that. And the intended meaning is: "Indeed, the distance between you has been severed due to its length"; thus he expressed that by "the bayn," which is separation.

As for the explanation of the lowered reading, it is that it is an adverb, and the verb is based on something omitted; its estimation is: "Indeed, the connection or the relationship between you has been severed"; or something like this.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a clear explanation, and upon it, the people have interpreted it: Mujahid, Al-Suddi, and others. Another explanation is seen by Abu Al-Hasan Al-Akhfash; that is, the verb is attributed to the adverbial phrase, and the adverbial phrase remains in its lowered state, while in intention, it is raised; and like this is His saying, the Exalted: "And among us are the righteous and among us are others besides that" [Al-Jinn: 11].

Ibn Mas'ud, Mujahid, and Al-Amash read: "What has been severed between you," with the addition of "what"; and "and it has gone astray" means: it has perished and gone away; and "what you used to claim" refers to their claim that it intercedes and shares with Allah, the Exalted, in divinity.