{ Nay, but Allah alone worship }

This is a rebuttal to what they commanded him to do regarding the venerating of some of their gods. The fa (ف) is a particle of consequence (جزائية), acting as the response to an implied conditional clause; as if it were said: "If you are a worshiper or a person of reason, then worship Allah." The conditional clause was omitted, and the advancement of the object was made as a substitute for it. Az-Zamakhshari and his predecessors, among them Az-Zajjaj, held the view that it is a particle of consequence. Abu Hayyan denied that the advancement serves as a substitute for the condition. The school of Al-Farra’ and Al-Kisa’i holds that the fa is added between the emphatic and the emphasized, and the Glorious Name is in the accusative case (mansub) due to an omitted verb; the estimation is: "Allah, worship, so worship Him," but the verb was placed afterward to denote exclusivity (hasr).

In Al-Intisaf, the implication of Sibawayh’s discourse is that the original was "Be alerted, so worship Allah." They omitted the first verb for the sake of brevity, and they disapproved of beginning with the fa, for it is the nature of the fa to be situated between the conjunct and the conjunction. Thus, they advanced the object, so the fa became positioned in the middle in terms of wording, indicating the omitted [verb]. The benefit of exclusivity was added to it because the advancement signifies specification. Considering this specification is said to be indispensable; for if it were not for it, the speech would not have been a rebuttal to them regarding what they commanded him, as they did not ask him—peace and blessings be upon him—to abandon the worship of Allah Almighty, but rather [to engage in] the venerating of their gods and associating partners with Him, Exalted and Majestic is He. This is unless it is said that the worship of Allah Almighty alongside polytheism is no worship at all, and Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is the wealthiest of partners; whoever associates anyone with Him, Exalted and Majestic is He, in his deed, then his deed belongs to the one he associated [with Him], as is indicated by many reports. Isa recited "Nay, but Allah" (bal-u Allahu) in the nominative case.

{ And be of the thankful }

[Be thankful for] His bounty, Exalted is He, bestowed upon you, which the scope of enumeration cannot encompass. In this is an indication of the cause for the [aforementioned] exclusivity.