His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So when He gave them what was good, they made for Him partners in what He had given them. So exalted is Allah above what they associate." "Do they associate with Him that which does not create anything while they are created?" "And they are not able to give them any help, nor can they help themselves." "And if you call them to guidance, they will not follow you. It is all the same for you whether you call them or you are silent."

It is said: The previous verse is about Adam and Hawwa (Eve), and the pronoun in His saying: "He gave them" refers back to them. It is said that the shirk (associating partners with Allah) that they committed is in obedience, meaning they obeyed Iblis in naming [their child] 'Abd al-Harith. However, they were otherwise obedient to Allah. Al-Tabari related in this regard a hadith from the route of Samurah ibn Jundub. It is possible that the shirk is in that they made His servitude (p-110) by name for others. Al-Tabari and al-Suddi said regarding His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So exalted is Allah above what they associate": It is a separate statement that is not from the first, and the story of Adam and Hawwa is completed in His saying: "In what He gave them," and this is a statement intended for the polytheists of the Arabs.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an assertion not supported by the wording, and it is appropriate to say: Exalted is Allah above that trivial imagined shirk in the servitude of the name, and the statement remains in the direction of our parents, Adam and Hawwa, peace be upon them. The pronoun in "they associate" is a plural pronoun because Iblis is the planner with them in naming the child 'Abd al-Harith. And whoever said: "The previous verse is merely for the purpose of enumerating the blessings in spouses and in facilitating offspring and childbirth, then mentioned the evil deeds of the polytheists thereafter," said in the last verse: It is upon that style, and His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So exalted is Allah above what they associate" refers in the pronoun to the polytheists. The meaning in this verse is: So when Allah gave these two humans what was good, meaning sound, they took it to disbelief, and made for Allah partners in it, and they took it out of the fitrah (natural disposition). The term shirk necessitates two shares, meaning: And they made for Allah in it a partner, because Iblis or the idols of the polytheists are what is made. The original is that everything is for Allah, exalted and glorified is He. Thus, al-Zajjaj resolved the objection of those who said: It should be that the statement is: "They made a partner for others."

Nafi and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - read: "a partner" with a kasrah on the shīn and a sukoon on the rā' as a noun, and this is the reading of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, and Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah, and Ikrimah, and Mujahid, and Asim, and Aban ibn Taghlib. And Ibn Kathir, and Abu 'Amr, and Hamzah, and al-Kisai, and Hafs from Asim read "partners" in the plural, and this is clear evidence for this last interpretation, and it is a concern for the statement of those who say: "The first verse is about Adam and Hawwa." In the mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "So when He gave them what was good, they associated in it." And al-Tabari mentioned in the stories of Adam and Hawwa and Iblis in the naming of 'Abd al-Harith, and in the manner of addressing them, lengthy matters that do not require abbreviation to mention.

(p-111) And Nafi', Al-Hasan, Abu Ja'far, Abu Amr, and Asim read: "About what they associate, do they associate?" with the 'ya' from below in both instances. And Abu Abdur-Rahman read: "About what you associate?" with the 'ta' from above, "Do you associate what does not create?" The verse. And some of those who said: "Indeed, the verses are about Adam and Hawwa" narrated that Iblis came to Adam after he had a son named Abdullah and said: If you want your son to live, name him 'Abd al-Shams.' So he had a son and named him thus. And he meant by his saying: "Do they associate what does not create anything?" and "while they are created" - this refers back to Adam, Hawwa, and the son named 'Abd al-Shams.' And those who said the other saying stated: Indeed, this is about the polytheistic disbelievers who associate idols in worship. And he intended by his saying: "What does not create" and expressed it by "they" as if it were rational according to the belief of the disbelievers in it and according to its names. And "they are created" means: they are carved and made. And it is possible - according to the reading of "Do they associate?" with the 'ya' from below - that the meaning is: And these polytheists are created, meaning: they should consider that they are created beings and make their god their Creator, not one who does not create anything.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And they cannot" - this verse is interpreted according to the interpretation of those who said: "Indeed, the intended are Adam and Hawwa and the sun" as previously mentioned, but with difficulty and forced interpretation from the interpreter in meaning. However, these verses align and their arrangement is pleasing, and their meanings support each other according to the other interpretation, and the meaning is: And they cannot defend themselves from the command of Allah and His will. And whoever cannot defend himself, it is even more unlikely that he can defend others.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And if you call them to guidance" - the verse, those who said: "Indeed, the verses are about Adam, peace be upon him" said: This addresses the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and his nation, starting anew regarding the contemporary disbelievers of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And for them is the 'ha' and 'm' in "you call them." And those who said the other saying stated: This addresses the believers and the disbelievers according to the reading of those who read "they associate" with the 'ya' from below, and for the disbelievers only according to the reading of those who read with the 'ta' from above regarding the stopping, meaning: This is the state of the idols with you; if you call them, they will not respond to you, for they have no senses nor perceptions.

And Nafi' alone read: "They do not follow you" with the 'ta' being silent and the 'ba' being opened, while the others read: "They do not follow you" with the 'ta' being stressed and the 'ba' being broken, and the meaning is the same.

(p-112) And in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Did you call them or have you remained silent?" he connected the noun to the verb, as the estimation is: Or have you remained silent? And similar to this is the saying of the poet:

It is the same for you whether you knock or spend a night with the people of the domes from Numair ibn Amir.