And His—exalted be He—statement: “How many an angel there is in the heavens whose intercession will be of no use whatsoever until, after Allah grants permission, He authorizes whomever He wills and is pleased with” (53:26).

— Word Analysis —
• kam: an informative particle functioning as the subject, meaning “many angels.”
• la tughni: “does not avail or benefit,” serving as the predicate of the subject.
• illā min baʿdi an yaʾdhana Allah: “except after Allah allows them to intercede.”
• liman yashāʾ: “for whichever of His servants He wills.”
• wa yardā: “and with whose words and deeds He is pleased.”

— Overall Meaning —
Allah declares that, despite the exalted status of the many angels who are close to Him, their intercession will not profit anyone in the least unless He first grants them permission to intercede for whomever He wills among His servants, and only if the person on whose behalf they intercede is someone whose words and deeds Allah approves—that is, one completely free of both major and minor forms of shirk. If this is the case for the angels, it applies even more emphatically to every other created being.

— Relevance to the Chapter —
The verse refutes the idolaters who seek intercession from angels or other creatures.

— Lessons Drawn from the Verse —
1- A rebuttal of the polytheists who approach created beings, asking them for intercession.
2- Intercession is owned by Allah alone and must be sought from Him alone.
3- Intercession is effective only when two conditions are fulfilled: