And do not insult the deities whom they invoke besides Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity. This is because they said when the saying of Allah, the Exalted, was revealed: "Indeed, you and what you worship besides Allah are the fuel of Hellfire," that you must cease from insulting our gods or we will insult your God. It was said that the Muslims were insulting their deities, so they were prohibited from doing so, lest their insults lead to the insult of Allah, the Exalted.

If you say: Insulting the deities is a right and an obedience, how is it correct to prohibit it, when prohibition is only valid for sins?

I say: There are acts of obedience that are known to lead to corruption, thus they are no longer considered acts of obedience. Therefore, it is necessary to prohibit them because they become sins, not because they are acts of obedience, just as the prohibition of wrongdoing is among the greatest acts of obedience. If it is known that it leads to an increase in evil, it becomes a sin, and it is necessary to prohibit that prohibition, just as it is necessary to prohibit wrongdoing. If you say: It has been narrated from Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin that they attended a funeral, and Muhammad saw women and turned back, Al-Hasan said: If we were to abandon obedience for the sake of sin, that would hasten corruption in our religion. I say: This is not applicable to our discussion, because the attendance of men at the funeral is an act of obedience, and it is not a reason for the attendance of women, as they attend whether men are present or not, unlike the insult to the deities. It was merely suggested to Muhammad that it was similar until Al-Hasan pointed it out.

In enmity, injustice, and aggression. It is also read as "enemy" with a damma on the 'ayn and a shadda on the waw, meaning the same. It is said: This person is an enemy, in enmity, injustice, and hostility. And from Ibn Kathir: "enemy" with a fatha on the 'ayn meaning enemies without knowledge, in ignorance of Allah and what should be mentioned about Him. Thus, We have adorned for every nation such adornment. We have adorned for every nation among the disbelievers their evil deeds, or We have left them and their affair. And We did not restrain them until their evil deeds appeared good to them, or We delayed the devil until he adorned for them or we adorned it in their view. And their saying that Allah commanded us with this and adorned it for us will be a source of information for them, and He will reprimand them for it, and admonish them, and punish them.