Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:224

{And the poets, [only] the deviators follow them.}

{And the poets}: A subject (mubtada’). {follow them the deviators}: Its predicate (khabar).

The meaning is: No one follows them in their falsehood, their lies, their idle speech, their practice of satire, their tearing apart of reputations, their disparagement of lineages, their erotic poetry regarding women, their fabrication, or their praising of those who do not deserve praise—nor does anyone find such things from them good or take pleasure in their speech—except for the deviators, the foolish, and the rogues.

Interpretations of "The Deviators" (al-ghawun):

• It is said: They are the narrators (ar-rawun).
• It is said: They are the devils (ash-shayatin).
• It is said: They are the poets of the Quraysh: ‘Abd Allah ibn az-Ziba‘ra, Hubayra ibn Abi Wahb al-Makhzumi, Musafi‘ ibn ‘Abd Manaf, and Abu ‘Azza al-Jumahi. And from [the tribe of] Thaqif: Umayya ibn Abi as-Salt. They used to say, "We say the likes of what Muhammad says," and they would satirize him. The Bedouins of their people would gather around them to listen to their poetry and their satires.

Grammatical Notes:

• ‘Isa ibn ‘Umar read it as wa-sh-shu‘ara’a (in the accusative case), implying a hidden verb that the explicit noun explains. Abu ‘Ubayd said: "He had a dominant tendency toward the accusative case." He also read: Hammalata al-hatab (111:4), wa-s-sariqata (5:38), and suratan anzalnaha (24:1).
• It is read yatba‘uhum (with a light ‘ayn).
• It is read yatba‘hum (with a quiescent ‘ayn), by analogy to bi-‘di (in bi-‘di ‘adudin).