9

Or have they taken, idols [as], guardians besides Him? (am, 'or', is disjunctive,¹ functioning with the sense of bal, 'nay, but', the one used to denote a shift [in the subject matter]; the hamza is for denial, in other words 'those who are taken' [as guardians] are not [in fact] guardians [of anything]). But Allahu ta’ālā, He [alone] is the Guardian (wakīl), in other words, then One who helps believers (the fā' [of fa'llāhu] is merely for coordination) and He revives the dead, and He has power over all things.