An-Najm: (23) They are not but...

"They are not" — the pronoun refers to the idols; meaning, the idols in terms of divinity— "but mere names," devoid of any trace or essence of divinity whatsoever.

His saying, the Almighty: "You have named them," is an attribute of the names, and the pronoun therein refers to the names, not to the idols. The meaning is: You have designated them as names, for "naming" is a relation between the name and the named. If measured against the name, its meaning is the making of it a name for the named; if measured against the named, its meaning is the making of it a named thing for the name. Here, the first meaning was chosen without addressing the named, to verify that those idols which they call "gods" are mere names, having absolutely no corresponding entities (named things), as in His saying, the Exalted: "You do not worship besides Him except names" (the verse). It does not mean that there are corresponding entities but they do not deserve the naming. It has been said: It refers to the three names mentioned [in the preceding verses], as they used to apply them to those idols believing they deserved devotion, worship, glorification, and drawing near with offerings. This is countered by the argument that even if one were to concede that the aforementioned names indicate the establishment of those specific meanings for the idols, there is no additional benefit in denying them; rather, the [primary] issue is the denial of divinity from them, as is their well-known claim regarding all idols, in a demonstrative manner; for the negation of the attribute here is a negation a fortiori. That is: They are not anything at all except names devoid of any substance, which "you and your forefathers have invented" in accordance with vain desires. "God has sent down no authority for them," that is, no proof upon which they can rely.

"They follow"—meaning they do not follow in what they mentioned regarding naming and acting upon it— "except conjecture," meaning except the illusion that what they are upon is the truth, a false illusion. "Conjecture" here is intended to mean "illusion," and its usage in that sense is common. It is understood from the words of al-Raghib that illusion is a subset of conjecture. "And what the souls desire," meaning what their souls, which are prone to evil, crave; on the premise that "what" (ma) is a relative pronoun with its referent being implied, and the definite article (al-) in "the souls" is for identification (covenantal) or a substitute for the genitive construction. It is also permitted that "what" (ma) is an infinitive particle; likewise, it is permitted that the definite article is for the generic, as the soul, by its very nature, desires what is not best, for it is fashioned to love pleasures, while it is only the intellect that drives it toward a good outcome.

The shift in "they follow" to the third person is to signal that the enumeration of their ugly deeds necessitated turning away from them and narrating their crimes to others. Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Waththab, Talhah, al-A'mash, and Isa ibn Umar read it as "you follow" (with a 'ta' of address).

"And indeed, there has come to them from their Lord guidance"—this is a circumstantial clause relating to the pronoun in "they follow," confirming the falsehood of what they are upon regarding the following of conjecture and desire. "Guidance" is intended to mean the Messenger, may God exalt him and grant him peace, or the Magnificent Quran, on the basis that it is in the meaning of "the Guide," or by describing it as "guidance" as a hyperbole. They do not follow except that, while the reality is that there has come to them from their Lord, whose majesty is great, that which requires them to abandon it and follow the path of truth. The essence of it is: They follow that while in a state that contradicts it. It is also permissible that the sentence is parenthetical, and it also serves to confirm the invalidity of that [state].