Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:71

They said: "We worship idols, and we remain devoted to them."

They were not content with a sufficient reply by saying merely "idols"—as in the Almighty’s saying: "What has your Lord sent down? They said: 'Good'"—but they were verbose in their response. They explicitly stated the verb and appended to it the continuity of their devotion to their idols, even though they were not asked about that. This was intended to manifest what was in their wicked souls of joy and pride in that matter. This is, according to what is in al-Kashshaf, a foolish style.

"The meaning of al-thulul (to remain) here is continuity, as in their saying: 'If injustice were to remain (zalla), the people would perish.' On this view, zalla is a complete verb (requiring no predicate). Ibn Malik held that it occurs in this sense, though some grammarians denied it.

It is also said that it means doing a thing by day, for they used to worship them during the day and not the night. On this view, zalla is an incomplete verb, indicating the fixation of its predicate to its subject during the daytime.

Some eminent scholars chose the first view because the meaning of continuity is more immediately understood and more eloquent, fitting the context of joy and pride. Al-Zamakhshari chose the second view because it is the primary meaning of the word, which also suits the context, as it implies they were announcing their action due to their pride in it.

According to the first view, ‘akifin (devoted) is a circumstantial qualifier (hal), while on the second view, it is a predicate (khabar). The prepositional phrase (to them) relates to it. The use of the particle lam (for) instead of ‘ala (upon) is to convey an added meaning, as if they were saying: "We remain [in devotion] for their sake."