Tafsir of Fussilat 41:48

The meaning of His saying—Exalted be He—"And what they used to invoke before has strayed from them" is, according to what has been said: Their partners, whom they used to invoke beforehand and from whom they hoped for benefit, have vanished from them. This is based on al-ḍalāl (straying/disappearance) being in its literal sense, which is the opposite of presence (al-wijdān). Alternatively, it means their partners did not avail them of anything, in which case the straying is a metaphor for the absence of benefit.

"Ma" (what) is a relative pronoun referring to the partners. It is acceptable in this context to group those who possess intellect with those who do not when using the expression "ma." It has also been permitted that "ma" refers to the statement they used to make regarding the partners—that they were gods and partners to Allah—may He be glorified and exalted. The meaning would then be: They have forgotten what they used to say regarding their partners, such as attributing divinity to them. You may also consider "ma" to be an infinitive particle (maṣdariyya). The sentence may be a circumstantial clause (ḥāl) or a parenthetical statement (i‘tirāḍ). Some eminent scholars have mentioned that the latter is definitive if one holds that the pronoun in "they said" refers to the partners, and that the straying is a metaphor for the absence of benefit; so ponder this.

"And they became certain"—that is, they became convinced, as stated by al-Suddi and others, because there is no possibility for anything else here, and al-ẓann (thought/conjecture) is frequently used to mean certain knowledge.

"That they have no place of refuge"—meaning no place to flee. It is apparent that the sentence is in the accusative position, acting as the object of "they became certain," with the verb suspended (mu‘allaqah) by the negation. It has also been said that the speech is complete at His saying, "And they became certain," with al-ẓann taken in its literal sense—meaning, it became weighted in their minds that their statement "There is not among us any witness" was a salvation for them or a means of deception. In that case, the subsequent sentence is an incipit (musta’nafah), meaning: "They have no savior or place of escape."