The pronoun 'them' refers to the people. The address is shifted away from them in a way that calls attention to their misguidance, for there is no misguided person more misguided than the imitator. It is as if he is saying to the wise: 'Look at these fools and what they say.' It is said that they are the polytheists. It is said that they are a group of the Jews whom the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called to Islam, and they said: 'Rather, we will follow what we found our forefathers upon, for they were better than us and more knowledgeable.' 'And we found' means 'we discovered,' as indicated by His saying: 'Rather, we will follow what we found our forefathers upon.' 'Even if their forefathers'—the 'wa' (and) indicates a state, and the 'hamzah' (the glottal stop) indicates a response and astonishment. Its meaning is: 'Will they follow them even if their forefathers did not understand anything of the religion and did not find the right guidance?'