Overall meaning of the verse: Allah addresses His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with amazement and rebuke, saying in effect: “Have you not considered those Jews and Christians who were given a share of the Book—wherein truth is distinguished from falsehood—yet they still affirm what is false, worshipping idols, consulting soothsayers and sorcerers, and in all of this obeying Satan?”

Relevance of the verse to the chapter: If people who possessed part of the Scripture came to believe in al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt, then it is neither impossible nor unlikely that this ummah—endowed with the Qur’an—could also end up worshipping al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) indeed foretold that members of this community would imitate the Jews and Christians in such deeds, even though they might detest those practices and know them to be false.

Lessons derived from the verse:
1- Some members of this ummah will worship idols, just as occurred among the Jews and Christians.
2- In this context, “believing in al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt” means siding with their devotees and following them, even if one claims to hate those practices and recognizes their falsity.
3- Rejecting al-jibt and al-ṭāghūt is obligatory in every revealed scripture.
4- Acting upon one’s knowledge is mandatory; whoever fails to implement what he knows resembles the Jews and Christians.