"Or have they taken deities besides Him?"—[The phrasing] is interrogative; meaning: they have indeed done so. This interrogation, and others like it, is an interrogation for the purpose of identifying/asserting. "Say, 'Bring your proof'"—meaning: your evidence for what you claim: that Allah commanded you to take deities besides Him; meaning: they possess no evidence for that. "This is the message for those with me"—Qatada said: meaning the Quran. "And the message of those before me"—meaning the reports of previous nations and their deeds; in them, there is no taking of deities besides Allah. "But most of them"—meaning: the majority of them—"do not know the truth, so they are averse"—from the truth.
﴿أَمِ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً﴾ عَلَى الاسْتِفْهَامِ؛ أَيْ: قَدْ فَعَلُوا، وَهَذَا الِاسْتِفْهَامُ، وَأَشْبَاهُهُ اسْتِفْهَامٌ عَلَى معرفَة. ﴿قل هاتوا برهانكم﴾ يَعْنِي: حُجَّتَكُمْ عَلَى مَا تَقُولُونَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَكُمْ أَنْ تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً؛ أَيْ: لَيْسَتْ عِنْدَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ حُجَّةٌ. ﴿هَذَا ذِكْرُ من معي﴾ قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: يَعْنِي: الْقُرْآنَ ﴿وَذِكْرُ من قبلي﴾ يَعْنِي أَخْبَارَ الْأُمَمِ السَّالِفَةِ وَأَعْمَالُهُمْ؛ لَيْسَ فِيهَا اتِّخَاذ آلِهَةً دُونَ اللَّهِ ﴿بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي: جَمَاعَتُهُمْ ﴿لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْحَقَّ فهم معرضون﴾ عَن الْحق.
