The قربان: what one draws near to Allah, the Most High, meaning: they took them as intercessors, drawing near to Allah by them, as they said: These are our intercessors with Allah. One of the objects of اتخذ that refers back to those [Madhud said: 'One of the objects of اتخذ that refers back to the relative is omitted... etc.' Ahmad said: 'The reason for the invalidity of the meaning in this grammatical analysis is not clear. We will clarify it by saying: If قربان were a second object and its meaning were drawing near by them, the meaning would imply that they were reproached for not taking Allah as a means of drawing near, because when a master reprimands his servant and says: I have taken so-and-so as a master besides me, it means the blame is on attributing mastery to someone other than him. This is not the intent, for Allah, the Most High, is drawn near to and is not drawn near by others. Thus, the reproach was on attributing divinity to other than Allah, the Most High. Therefore, the correct wording should be that آلهة is the second object and nothing else.'] the omitted [The saying 'اتخذ that refers back to those omitted' is what he clarified in saying: meaning they took them. (A)] and the second: آلهة. And قربانا: is a state, and it is not correct for قربانا to be a second object and آلهة to be a substitute for it due to the invalidity of the meaning. And it was recited as قربانا with the ر pronounced as a ض. The meaning is: So why did their gods not prevent them from destruction? Rather, they went astray from them, meaning they were absent from their support. And that is an indication of the inability of their gods to aid them and their straying from them, meaning: that is the effect of their falsehood, which is their taking them as gods, and the fruit of their polytheism and their lying about Allah, claiming that He has partners. And it was recited: إفكهم: and الإفك and الإفك: are like الحذر and الحذر. And it was recited: and that is إفكهم, meaning: that is the taking which has this effect and fruit of turning them away from the truth. And it was recited: أفكهم with emphasis for exaggeration. And آفكهم: made them deceived. And آفكهم, meaning: their saying, the deceived is the one who deceives, just as one says, a lying saying, and that is a deception from what they used to fabricate, meaning: some of what they used to fabricate from the deception.