The second interpretation is that “those whom they invoke” refers to Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels whom the polytheists worshipped. These possess no power to intercede for anyone “except those who bear witness to the truth”—namely, the declaration of sincere devotion—“while knowing” that Allah created Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels. This is the view of a group that includes Mujāhid.

Al-Baghawī said concerning the verse:

“Those whom they invoke besides Him have no power to intercede, except those who bear witness to the truth.”

These are Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels, for they were worshipped besides Allah, and they have the power to intercede. According to this interpretation, man (“who”) occupies the nominative position. It has also been said that man occupies the genitive position, and that “those whom they invoke” refers to Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels. This means that they possess no power to intercede except for those who bear witness to the truth. He said: The first interpretation is more correct.

I say: A number of scholars have reported the statements of Mujāhid and Qatādah, including Ibn Abī Hātim. Through his well-known chain of transmission—which meets the criteria of authenticity—he narrated that Mujāhid said concerning His words:

“Those whom they invoke besides Him have no power to intercede.”

These are Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels. He means that Jesus, ‘Uzayr, and the angels do not intercede except for “those who bear witness to the truth,” knowing the truth. This is his wording. He treats shafa‘a (“to intercede”) as directly transitive, and likewise the wording of . . . (1)

On this interpretation, man would occupy the accusative position, not the genitive as al-Baghawī stated;