its occasional occurrence. For this sentence conveys negation like a verbal sentence, since its participle functions as a verb. Yet it concerns a characteristic of the person himself, and thus denies that such an act could occur on his part, declaring him above it and denying any disposition in him to accept it. The first negates the act in the past and future; the second negates his acceptance of it in the past, as well as the present and future. Thus, His words:

“Nor am I a worshipper of what you have worshipped”

mean: I myself cannot accept, nor is it fitting for me, to worship anything you have ever worshipped, even if you worshipped it only in the past. Whatever object of worship you have worshipped at any time, I will not accept worshipping it at any time whatsoever.

This encompasses their worship in the past and future, and expresses the strength of his disavowal, refusal, and rejection of such worship at all times, in a way that the first sentence does not. That sentence negates the act at times other than the past, whereas this one negates the possibility of his worshipping—and his acceptance of worshipping—anything they have worshipped, even if only during some period in the past.

The meaning is: Whatever you have worshipped, even during some period in the past, I can never worship, nor is it ever permissible for me to worship it. However, he negates only what might proceed from him in the present and future, because the point is his own disavowal in the present and future. Every Muslim is commanded to recite this surah, even if he associated partners with Allah before reciting it.