"That is because they said, 'The Fire will not touch us except for a limited number of days.'" This refers to the number of days they worshipped the calf; meaning their predecessors. Then the discourse returns to them, for He said: "And that which they were inventing deceived them in their religion," meaning: the falsehoods they fabricated against Allah. Qatadah said: This refers to their saying, "We are the children of Allah and His beloved ones."