Adh-Dhariyat: (8) "Indeed, you are in a conflicting statement..."

(Indeed, you are in a conflicting statement) meaning: contradictory and inconsistent regarding the matter of Allah (Mighty and Majestic is He), for you say: "He (Glorified is His status) is the Creator of the heavens and the earth," yet you claim the validity of worshipping idols alongside Him (Glorified is He).

And regarding the matter of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), you say at one time that he is a madman, and at another that he is a sorcerer—and a sorcerer can only be a rational person.

And regarding the matter of the Resurrection, you say at one time that there is no resurrection or life after death at all, while at another time you allege that your idols will be your intercessors before Allah (the Exalted) on the Day of Resurrection, among other conflicting statements concerning that which they were commanded to believe.

Some have limited the "conflicting statement" to the matter of the Prophet (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace). The sentence is the response to the oath. Perhaps the point of that oath is to liken their statements, in their contradiction and the incompatibility of their intentions, to the paths of the heavens in their divergence and the difference in their forms; or it is an indication that they are neither straight nor good, nor are they strong and firm, nor is there anything in them that adorns them—rather, they contain that which discredits them, namely, contradiction.