Commentary
That is, let them be strengthened by their gods, as they will be for them intercessors and supporters before Allah, saving them from punishment. No, this is a deterrent for them and a denial of their reliance on the gods. Ibn Nuhayk read: No, they will certainly disbelieve in their worship, meaning they will deny it. No, they will disbelieve in their worship, as you say: I passed by his boy, meaning Zayd. In the commentary of Ibn Jinni: No, with the opening of the 'kaf' and the tanween, and he claimed that its meaning is all this opinion and belief is no. One might say: If this narration is correct, then it is the 'no' that is for deterrence, and the one who stops at it has turned its 'alif' into a 'noon' as in 'qawarir'. The pronoun in 'they will disbelieve' refers to the gods, meaning they will deny their worship and reject it, saying: By Allah, you did not worship us, and you are lying. Allah, the Exalted, said: And when those who associated partners with Allah see their partners, they will say: Our Lord, these are our partners whom we used to call upon besides You. So they will cast to them the saying: Indeed, you are liars. Or for the polytheists, meaning they deny, due to the bad outcome, that they had worshipped them. Allah, the Exalted, said: Then their trial was nothing but that they said: By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists. Against them is a contradiction, in opposition to them is honor, and the intended meaning of contradiction to honor is humiliation and disgrace, meaning: They will be against them what they intended and desired, as if it were said: And they will be humiliation for them, not honor for them, or they will be assistance for them, and the opposite is assistance. It is said: From your opposites, meaning your supporters, and as if assistance is called the opposite because it opposes your enemy and negates him by assisting you against him. If you say: Why is it singular? I say: Its singularity is affirmed by his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: 'And they are a hand against those besides them.' This is part of a narration from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, which was narrated by Abu Dawood, Al-Nasa'i, Ahmad, Ishaq, and Al-Hakim from the way of Qais ibn Abbad from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that he took out from the sheath of his sword a book that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entrusted to him, and in it was mentioned this. Ibn Majah narrated from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, raised, saying: 'The blood of Muslims is equal. They are a hand against those besides them.' This hadith is also reported from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As, narrated by Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Al-Bazzar, and Al-Tabarani from the narration of Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather in a similar manner, and from Abdullah ibn Umar, narrated by Ibn Hibban. And from Ma'qil ibn Yasar, narrated by Ibn Majah. The agreement of their words and their being like one thing is due to their extreme solidarity and agreement. The meaning of the gods being assistance against them is that they are fuel for the fire and stones of Hell, and because they were punished due to their worship, even if the 'waw' in 'they will disbelieve' and 'they will be' returns to the polytheists, then the meaning is: And they will be against them, meaning their enemies, a contradiction, meaning: they will be disbelievers in them, after they had worshipped them.
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