The sons of Allah are the followers of the son of Allah, 'Uzayr and the Messiah. Mahmoud said: "The meaning of their saying, 'the sons of Allah are the followers of the son of Allah, 'Uzayr..." Ahmad said: And from this is the saying of the angels, for they are the chosen servants of Allah: (Indeed, We have sent to a people of criminals to send upon them) until His saying: (except for his wife; We had decreed that she would be of those who remain behind). They attributed the decree to them, while in reality, the one who decrees is Allah. And likewise, the saying of the beast - because it is one of the special signs of Allah: (Indeed, the people were not certain of Our signs) is among those who made it from the saying of the beast, and Allah knows best. As it was said to the followers of Abu Khubaib, who is Abdullah ibn al-Zubair, "the Khubaibun"; and as the group of Musaylimah used to say: We are the prophets of Allah. And the relatives of the king and his people and his entourage say: We are the kings. Therefore, the believer of Pharaoh's family said: You have the kingdom today, so why will He punish you for your sins? If it is true that you are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones, then why do you sin and are punished for your sins, and you are transformed and the fire touches you for a few days according to your claim? If you were the sons of Allah, you would be of the same kind as the Father, not committing vile acts nor deserving of punishment. If you were His beloved ones, you would not disobey Him, nor would He punish you. Rather, you are humans from among the creation of humans, He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills, and they are the people of obedience. And He punishes whom He wills, and they are the sinners. Mahmoud said: "Meaning the people of obedience (and He punishes whom He wills) means the sinners." Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Rather, the will of Allah encompasses the repentant who turns back, and the sinner who persists if he is a monotheist. Al-Zamakhshari presented this interpretation based on his repeated principle in more than one place, which is the cutting off of the threat to the persistent sinners who are monotheists, and that forgiveness for them is impossible.