If you obey those who disbelieve, Ali may Allah be pleased with him said: It was revealed regarding the saying of the hypocrites to the believers at the time of defeat: 'Return to your brothers and enter into their religion.' And from Al-Hasan may Allah be pleased with him: If you seek counsel from the Jews and Christians and accept from them, for they used to mislead them and create doubts in the religion, and they would say: 'If he were truly a prophet, he would not have been defeated, nor would he and his companions have suffered what they suffered. He is merely a man, like others, sometimes he has victory and sometimes he is defeated.' And from Al-Suddi: If you submit to Abu Sufyan and his companions and seek their protection, they will return you to their religion. It is said that this is general for all disbelievers, and that the believers must avoid them and not obey them in anything, nor submit to their judgment or their counsel, so that they do not lead them to agree with them. Rather, Allah is your protector, meaning your supporter; you do not need anyone else's support or authority. It is read in the accusative as: 'Rather, obey Allah, your protector.' 'We will cast' is read with the pronoun 'we' and 'you.' The fear - with the 'ain' being either silent or pronounced - it is said: Allah cast fear into the hearts of the polytheists on the day of Uhud, so they fled to Mecca without reason, despite their strength and dominance. It is said: They went to Mecca, and when they were partway there, they said: 'We have not done anything; we killed some of them, then we left them while we were victorious. Return and annihilate them.' But when they resolved to do that, Allah cast fear into their hearts, so they held back. Because of their associating partners with Him, meaning the reason for Allah casting fear into their hearts was their associating partners with Him, for He did not send down any authority regarding the gods they associated. If you say: Was there not an authority until it was sent down? I say: There was no authority, except that it was not sent down upon them, because associating partners cannot be established upon an authority. Rather, the intent is to negate the authority and its descent entirely, as in His saying: 'And you will not see the lizard in it burrowing.' This means: The rabbit is not frightened by its horrors... and you will not see the lizard in it burrowing, meaning there is no lizard in it that burrows. 'Burrowing' is a state if it is a visual sighting, and a second object if it is a scientific one. It is permissible that the meaning is: There is no rabbit in it to frighten it with its horrors, just as there is no lizard in it that enters its burrow; both are negated. This is more in line with the introduction.