"Then why"—meaning, why did they not—"did those they took, besides Allah, as an offering—gods—not help them?" He means: their gods which they worshipped, claiming that they brought them closer to Allah in status. He says: Why did they not help them when the punishment came to them?
Muhammad said: The meaning is: they took them as gods to seek closeness to Allah through them, and this is the meaning of what Yahya said.
Interpretation of Surah al-Ahqaf from verse 29 to verse 32.
﴿فلولا﴾ فَهَلا ﴿نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دون الله قربانا آلِهَة﴾ يَعْنِي: آلهتَهم الَّتِي عبدوها، زَعَمُوا أَنَّهَا تقربهم إِلَى اللَّه زلفى، يَقُول: فَهَلا نصروهم إِذْ جَاءَهُم الْعَذَاب.
قَالَ محمدٌ: الْمَعْنى: اتخذوهم آلِهَة يَتَقَرَّبُون بهم إِلَى اللَّه، وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ يَحْيَى.
تَفْسِيرُ سُورَة الْأَحْقَاف من الْآيَة ٢٩ إِلَى آيَة ٣٢.
