Tafsir of Maryam 19:81

"And they have taken besides Allah deities..."

Meaning: So that they might be strengthened by their deities, as they would be for them—before Allah—intercessors and helpers who would save them from the punishment.

"{Nay!}" A rebuke to them and a denial of their seeking strength through these deities. Ibn Nuhayk read it as kallan.

"{They will deny their worship}" Meaning: They will disavow their worship. It is like saying, "Zayd, I passed by his servant" (a grammatical construction of anticipation). In Ibn Jinni’s al-Muhtasib, it is written as kallan with a fatha on the kaf and tanwin, claiming it means "all of this opinion and belief is kalla (a rejection)." One might say: If this narration is authentic, it is the kalla used for rebuke, where the one pausing on it turns the alif into a nun, as in [the word] qawarira.

The pronoun in "{they will deny}" refers to the deities; meaning: they will disavow their worship and deny it, saying, "By Allah, you did not worship us, and you are liars." Allah the Exalted said: "And when those who associated others with Allah see their 'partners,' they will say, 'Our Lord, these are our partners whom we used to invoke besides You.' But they will throw the statement back at them, 'Indeed, you are liars'" (An-Nahl: 86).

Or, the pronoun refers to the polytheists: meaning they will deny—due to the evil outcome—that they ever worshipped them. Allah the Exalted said: "Then there will be no [excuse for] their fitnah except that they will say, 'By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.'"

"{...as opponents [against them]}" In contrast to "as strength for them." The intended meaning is the opposite of strength, which is humiliation and disgrace. It means: they will be opponents against them, contrary to what they intended and desired. It is as if it were said: "They will be a source of humiliation for them, not a source of strength."

Alternatively, they may be "helpers" against them, for al-didd (the opposite) can mean "helper." It is said, "Who are your addad (opponents/helpers)?" meaning: your helpers. It is as if the helper is called an didd because he opposes your enemy and contradicts him by assisting you against him.

If you ask: Why is it singular? I say: It is singularized just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) singularized it in the hadith: "And they are a hand (yad) against those other than them," due to the unity of their word and their being like a single entity because of their extreme cohesion and agreement.

The meaning of the deities being "helpers" against them is that they will be the fuel of the Fire and the stones of Hell, and because the polytheists were punished on account of worshipping them. If the "waw" in "they will deny" and "they will be" refers back to the polytheists, then the meaning is: They will be against them—that is, their enemies—as opponents, meaning: disbelievers, after they had been worshipping them.

"Have you not seen that We have sent the devils upon the disbelievers, inciting them [to sin] with [constant] incitement?"