Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:12

(He calls, besides Allah) — It is said that this is a beneficial resumption [of the narrative] concerning some of his abominable deeds. It is also said that it is a resumption explaining the magnitude of the loss. It is permissible for it to be a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the subject of "turned back," while the preceding text is an interruption. Regardless of which is the case, this makes it unlikely that the verse refers to any of the Jews, for they did not call upon idols, even if they did take their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah.

The manifest interpretation is that the one called upon is an idol, due to the significance of what is contained in the words of the Exalted, "(that which) does not harm him and does not benefit him." The intent behind "calling" (du’a) is worship. That is, he worships—transgressing beyond the worship of Allah the Exalted—that which would not harm him if he were not to worship it, and which would not benefit him if he were to worship it.

It is also permissible that the intent behind "calling" is to invoke, meaning he calls out to a lifeless object—not of a nature to cause harm or benefit—for the sake of being rescued from the trial that has afflicted him. It is suggested by the fact that the object intended is a lifeless thing—as noted in Irshad al-Aql al-Salim—that the repetition of the word "that" [referring to the act of calling] emphasizes: "(that calling) is the extreme straying."

(From the truth and guidance) — This is a metaphor derived from the straying of one who has wandered far into the wilderness, lost away from the path.