They are the angels. It was said: Jesus son of Mary, and 'Uzayr. It was said a group from the jinn, whom some Arabs worshipped, then the jinn embraced Islam without realizing it. That is: call upon them, for they cannot remove any harm from you, whether it be illness, poverty, or punishment, nor can they change it from one state to another or replace it. And those are the subject, and those who call upon them are their description, and they seek their news. This means: that their gods are those who seek the means, which is the nearness to Allah, the Exalted. And which of them is a substitute for the 'wa' in 'they seek,' and which is a relative pronoun, meaning: they seek who is closer to them and nearer as a means to Allah. So how about others who are not the closest? Or it is implied in 'they seek the means' the meaning of being eager, as if it were said: they are eager to know who is closer to Allah, and that is through obedience and increasing goodness and righteousness, and they hope and fear, like others among the servants of Allah. So how do they claim that they are gods? Indeed, the punishment of your Lord was truly something that everyone should be wary of, from a close angel and a sent prophet, let alone others.