The meaning of the hamzah in 'the report and the reprimand.' And their partners: their devils who adorned for them polytheism and the denial of resurrection and working for this world, because they know nothing other than it, which is the religion that the devils have legislated for them. Glorified and exalted is Allah above allowing it and commanding it. It is said that their partners are their idols. They are attributed to them because they have taken them as partners to Allah. Sometimes they are attributed to them for this reason, and sometimes to Allah. Since they were a cause of their misguidance and temptation, they were made a pathway for the religion of disbelief, as Ibrahim, blessings of Allah be upon him, said: 'Indeed, they have misled many of the people.' And if it were not for the word of separation, meaning the prior judgment of delaying the punishment, that is: and if it were not for the decree that the separation would be on the Day of Resurrection, it would have been judged between them, that is, between the disbelievers and the believers, or between the polytheists and their partners. Muslim ibn Jundab read: 'And that the wrongdoers,' with an open vowel, linking it to the word of separation, meaning: and if it were not for the word of separation and the decree of punishing the wrongdoers in the Hereafter, it would have been judged between them in this world.