If you say: what he brought is not like, so how did he call it a likeness? I say: the description or the wonderful story that is met with admiration and astonishment is called a likeness, likening it to some of the moving examples, because it is admired and astonishing to them. It was read تَدْعُونَ with a ت and a ي, and يَدْعُونَ: is built for the passive, لَنْ أخت 'لا' in negating the future, except that 'لن' negates it with a confirmed negation, and its confirmation here is the indication that the creation of the fly from them is impossible and contradicts their conditions, as if he said: it is impossible for them to create. If you say: what is the position of وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ? I say: the accusative is for the state, as if he said: it is impossible for them to create the fly conditioned upon their gathering together to create it and cooperating on it. This is among the most eloquent of what Allah has revealed in making the Quraysh ignorant and mocking their minds, and the testimony that the devil has overpowered them with his snares, where they were described with divinity - which necessitates the ability over all created things, and the encompassing of knowledge about everything - with images and statues from which it is impossible to have the ability to create even the least, the most humble, and the smallest of what He created, even if they gathered for that and supported one another. And more indicative of their incapacity and the absence of their power is that this least and most humble creation, if something were to be snatched from them, they would not be able to gather to retrieve it from him. And his saying ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ is like equating them with the fly in weakness. And if you were to investigate, you would find the seeker weaker and weaker, because the fly is a living being, while it is inanimate, and it is the dominant one while that one is the dominated. And from Ibn Abbas: they used to coat it with saffron and its heads with honey and close the doors on it, so the fly would enter through the openings and eat it.