(Say: Do you worship, besides Allah, that which possesses for you no power to harm or benefit?)

An imperative to rebuke them after expressing astonishment at their states. The meaning of "that which possesses no power" refers to ‘Isa (Jesus), or him and his mother, peace be upon them both. The meaning is: Do you worship something that does not have the ability to inflict that which Allah Almighty can inflict—such as calamities, disasters, health, or prosperity? Or, do you worship something that possesses no ability whatsoever? For everything that humans are capable of is by the creation of Allah Almighty and His enabling them, not by their own essence.

He, the Glorified, said "what" (ma)—considering what the subject is in its essence, its origin, and its developmental stages—as a preamble to negate power from it entirely, and to alert that it belongs to this genus [of created things]. How can one who shares the same genus as others be a god?

It is said that the intention by "what" (ma) is everything worshipped besides Allah Almighty, such as idols and others, and thus the non-rational was favored over the rational for the sake of belittlement. It is also said that it refers to the type/category, as in His saying: "Then marry those that please you of [other] women." It is further said that it is possible the intention is to progress from rebuking the Christians for worshipping ‘Isa (peace be upon him) to rebuking them for worshipping the cross, so "what" is literal; though its distance is not hidden.

The precedence of "harm" over "benefit" is because guarding against the former is more important than seeking the latter, and because the lowest degree of influence is the warding off of evil, followed by the bringing of good. The precedence of the indirect object over the direct object is for the reason mentioned repeatedly: the importance of the antecedent and the suspense created for the subsequent.

His saying, the Glorified and Exalted: (And Allah is the Hearing, the Knowing) is in the position of a state (hal) from the subject of "Do you worship." It confirms the rebuke and contains a threat. The "and" (waw) is the waw of state (hal); meaning: Do you worship other than Allah Almighty and associate partners with Him, the Glorified, when that which cannot do anything, and you do not fear Him, while He, the Glorified and Exalted, is the One exclusively characterized by encompassing all that is heard and known—among which are your false statements and straying beliefs?

It may be said that the meaning is: Do you worship the helpless, while Allah is the One who is truly capable of hearing every hearable and knowing every knowable? He cannot be such unless He is Living and Capable of all things, from whom proceed harm, benefit, and requital for statements and beliefs—if good, then good; and if evil, then evil.

A distinction is drawn between these two perspectives: that "what" (ma) in the first perspective is for belittlement and descriptiveness, while in this perspective, it is a move toward the vague as a form of belittlement. Except that "what" is for description, and the state (hal) confirms that; whereas in the former, it is for pure belittlement, and the state is as you have known. So understand.