His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah are servants like you. So invoke them, and let them respond to you if you should be among the truthful." "Do they have legs by which they walk, or do they have hands by which they strike, or do they have eyes by which they see, or do they have ears by which they hear? Say, 'Invoke your partners, then conspire against me and give me no respite.'" "Indeed, my protector is Allah, who has sent down the Book, and He takes care of the righteous."

The majority of the people read: "Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah are servants like you," with emphasis on "Indeed" and raising "servants." This is addressing the disbelievers in belittling the status of their idols in their eyes, meaning: these idols are created and newly made, as they are bodies and forms, so they are worshipped, meaning they are owned. And Muqatil said: the intended meaning of this verse is a group of Arabs from Khuzā'ah who used to worship the angels, so Allah informed them that they are servants like them, not gods. And Sa'id ibn Jubayr read: "Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah are servants like you," with the lightening of the noon from "Indeed" on the basis that it means "what" and by the accusative of his saying: "servants" and "like you." The meaning of this reading is to belittle the status of the idols and to deny their similarity to humans; rather, they are lesser and more insignificant as they are inanimate objects that do not understand or comprehend. Sibawayh sees that if "Indeed" is meant as "what," then it is weaker than the rank of "what," and the news remains raised, and it is included in the beginning, and the news does not make it accusative. So the view with him in this reading was: indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah are servants like you. And Abu al-Abbas al-Mubarrid permits it to act like "what" in making the news accusative. And Al-Kisai claimed that "Indeed" meaning "what" does not come except with "except" after it, like His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, the disbelievers are only in delusion" [Al-Mulk: 20]. Then He clarified the argument by His saying: "So invoke them," meaning: test them, for if they do not respond, they are as we have described.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Do they have legs?" The purpose of this verse is: do they have the senses of the living and their attributes? If they say: "No," they have judged that they are inanimate. So these details came for that generality which was intended to be established. If the acknowledgment of the details of the matter occurs, it necessitates the acknowledgment of its generality, and its clarification becomes stronger, and there remains no doubt in it. Al-Zahrawi said: the meaning is: you are better than them with these beneficial limbs, so how do you worship them?

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This interpretation is supported by the reading of Sa'id ibn Jubayr, as it necessitates that the idols are not servants like humans.

And His saying in the verse "or" is a disjunction for each one from the preceding sentence, and it is not "or" that is equivalent to the alif in your saying: "Is Zayd with you or Amr?" Because the equivalence is only in the question about two things, one of which is present. So if the estimation is on two things, both of which are negated, then "or" is a disjunction from the first sentence.

And this is a meaningful difference to me. As for the aspect of wording and grammatical construction, it is as it is.

Nafi', Al-Hasan, and Al-A'raj read "yabtišūna" with a kasrah on the ṭā', while Nafi' also, and Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah read "yabṭušūna" with a ḍammah.

Then Allah, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to challenge them with His saying: "Say, call upon your partners," meaning seek their help and call upon them to harm me and plot against me, and do not delay me. The meaning is: If they are gods, then their actions will manifest. He called them their partners because they have a relation to them by naming them gods and partners to Allah. Abu 'Amr and Nafi' read "fa-kīdūnī" with the yā' being present in connection, while Ibn Kathir, 'Asim, Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read "kīdūni" by omitting the yā' in both connection and pause. Abu 'Ali said: If it resembles disconnected speech or is disconnected, it resembles the rhyme, and they often omit the yā' in rhyme. They have committed to that, as Al-A'sha said:

"Will my seeking of the wilderness prevent me from the fear of death coming to me?"

And they have omitted the yā' which is the imperative as Al-A'sha said:

"He touches the carpets in his home with his hands like a Jewish worshipper."

And His saying, the Exalted: "So do not delay me," means do not postpone me. From it is His saying, the Exalted: "And a respite until ease." [Al-Baqarah: 280]

And His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, my protector is Allah," when He referred them to seek help from their deities in their distress and showed them that Allah is the One capable of all things, not those, He followed that with reliance on Allah and trusting Him by stating that He is his protector and supporter. The majority of people and the reciters read: "Indeed, my protector is Allah" with a broken yā' that is doubled and another open. Abu 'Amr, in what has been narrated from him, read: "Indeed, my protector is Allah" with one doubled yā' and the raising of "Allah." Abu 'Ali said: This reading does not escape being that the yā' which is the letter of the verb is either assimilated into the yā' of the genitive or the yā' which is the letter of the verb is omitted and the yā' of the active participle is assimilated into the yā' of the genitive. It is not permissible for the yā' which is the letter of the verb to be assimilated into the yā' of the genitive because if he does that, the first assimilation will break. So it is only that he omitted the letter of the verb and assimilated the yā' of the active participle into the yā' of the genitive.

And Ibn Mas'ud read: "The One who sent down the Book in truth and He is the protector of the righteous." And Al-Jahdari read - as Abu 'Amr Al-Dani mentioned -: "Indeed, my protector is Allah" in the genitive, and he interpreted that as meaning Gabriel, blessings and peace be upon him. Abu Hatim mentioned a reading not attributed and weakened it, even though the words of this verse are suitable for this meaning and fit it, what is before it and after it refutes that.