The devil is the news of that, meaning: indeed, that which discourages is the devil. And he frightens his allies: a statement that clarifies his devilry. Or the devil is an attribute of the demonstrative pronoun. And he frightens the news. And the intended meaning of the devil is Na'im, or Abu Sufyan. It is permissible that it be on the assumption of omitting the added word, meaning indeed, that is the saying of the devil, that is, the saying of Iblis, may Allah curse him, frightens his allies, he frightens you, his allies who are Abu Sufyan and his companions. This is supported by the reading of Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud: he frightens you, his allies. And His saying: so do not fear them. It was said: he frightens his allies who refrain from going out with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. If you say: to whom does the pronoun in 'so do not fear them' return in this interpretation? I say: to the people in His saying: (Indeed, the people have gathered against you) so do not fear them, lest you sit back from fighting and become cowardly, and fear Me, so strive with My Messenger and hasten to what He commands you if you are believers, meaning that faith necessitates that you prefer the fear of Allah over the fear of people (and they do not fear anyone except Allah).