‘Allah,’ then leave them”—and their supposition that what is meant is to utter this name—this is a clear error. Had they reflected on what precedes this, the meaning of the verse would have become clear. For He, glorified be He, says:

“They did not give Allah His due when they said, ‘Allah has not revealed anything to any human being.’ Say, ‘Who revealed the Book that Moses brought as a light and guidance for people, which you make into separate sheets, displaying them while concealing much? And you were taught what neither you nor your forefathers knew.’ Say, ‘Allah.’”

That is: say, “Allah revealed the Book that Moses brought.” This is a complete statement: a nominal sentence consisting of a subject and a predicate, with the predicate omitted because the question indicates the answer.

This is a regular pattern in comparable Arabic expressions, as in His words:

“If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you considered…’”

And so the verse continues. Likewise, His words:

“Or who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water for you from the sky, by which We brought forth gardens of beauty whose trees you could never have caused to grow? Is there a deity alongside Allah?”

The same applies to the verses that follow it, and to His words:

“Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Mighty Throne?’ They will say, ‘Allah.’”

This is according to the reading of Abū ‘Amr.

In ordinary speech, you ask, “Who came?” and the answer is, “Zayd” (Zaydun). You ask, “Whom did you honour?” and the answer is, “Zayd” (Zaydan). You ask, “Whom did you pass by?” and the answer is, “By Zayd” (bi-Zaydin). Thus, they mention the noun that answers “who” and omit the words connected with it, because these have already been mentioned in the question. They dislike repeating them without any gain in clarity, since that would merely make the expression longer and repetitive.