…and I have likewise been commanded to be the first to submit in Islam.
He also says in the same sūrah:
“Say: ‘Is it other than Allah that you order me to worship, O ignorant people? It has already been revealed to you—and to those before you—that if you ever associate partners with Him, your deeds will surely be nullified and you will certainly be among the losers. Rather, worship Allah alone and be among the grateful.’” (39:64–66)
Explanation of the words of the Most High:
“Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking…”
The Exalted further says:
“Say: ‘Call upon those you claim besides Him; they have no power to remove hardship from you or to shift it.’ Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means of nearness to their Lord—each of them striving to be the nearest—hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment. Truly the punishment of your Lord is ever to be feared.” (17:56–57)
Ibn Abī Ḥātim and others relate with sound chains from Shuʿbah, from al-Suddi, who heard Abū Ṣāliḥ quoting Ibn ʿAbbās with regard to the Almighty’s words, “Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means,” that they refer to Jesus, his mother Mary, ʿUzayr, and the angels.
The same explanation is reported by ʿAṭiyyah from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “The idol-worshippers used to say, ‘We worship the angels, the Messiah, and ʿUzayr.’”
Likewise, Israʾīl transmits from al-Suddi, from Abū Ṣāliḥ: “(They are) Jesus, ʿUzayr, and the angels.”
And in the commentary of Asbāṭ from al-Suddi it is recorded: “They mentioned that they had taken gods—namely when they worshipped the angels, the Messiah, and ʿUzayr—so Allah said, ‘Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means to their Lord.’”
Al-Bukhārī and others report from Ibn Masʿūd that certain human beings used to worship men from among the jinn. When those jinn embraced Islam, the humans persisted in worshipping them, so the verse was revealed: “Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a means of nearness to their Lord, hoping for His mercy…” to the end of the āyah.