ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ
Unquestionably, to Allah belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And those who invoke other than Allah do not [actually] follow [His] "partners." They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying
Tafsir
Verse range: 10:66
It means the rational, discerning beings, namely the angels and the two heavy groups (jinn and mankind).
He specified them to signal that if these beings—who are His and within His dominion—are all His servants, and He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is their Lord, then none of them is fit for Lordship, nor can any be a partner to Him in it. If this is the case for them, then those beyond them who lack reason are even more deserving of not being His equal or partner.
It also serves to show that whoever takes other than Him as a lord—whether an angel or a human, let alone an idol or otherwise—is a falsifier, following what imitation and the abandonment of reflection have led them to.
The meaning is: They do not follow "partners" in reality, even if they call them partners, because partnership with Allah in Lordship is impossible.
They follow only their assumption that they are partners.
They conjecture and estimate that they are partners, a false estimation.
It is possible that {وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ} is in the sense of an interrogative, meaning: "And what is it that they follow?" In this case, {شُرَكَاءَ} is in the accusative case because of the verb {يَدْعُونَ} (they call upon). In the first interpretation, it is governed by {يَتَّبِعُ} (they follow). The original structure would have been: "And those who call upon others besides Allah do not follow partners," but it was shortened to one of them for the sake of indication.
It is also possible that {مَا} is a relative pronoun conjoined to {مَن}, as if it were said: "And to Allah belong those whom they call upon as partners besides Allah," meaning: "And to Him belong their partners."
Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it as {تَدْعُونَ} (you call upon) with the ta. The interpretation is to treat {وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ} as an interrogative, meaning: "And what is it that those whom you call upon as partners—from among the angels and prophets—follow?"
The meaning is: They follow Allah and obey Him, so why do you not do as they do? This is like His saying: "Those whom they call upon seek a means of access to their Lord" (Al-Isra: 57). Then, the speech shifts from address to the third person, saying: "These polytheists follow only assumption, and they do not follow the truth that the angels and prophets follow."
