being hanīfs to God being of those who have submitted to God inclining away from every religion except His religion not ascribing partners to Him this clause emphasises the preceding one both clauses being circumstantial qualifiers referring to the third person plural indicator wāw of ijtanibū ‘avoid’. For whoever ascribes partners to God it is as though he had fallen from the heaven and been snatched away by vulture birds that is as though they had seized him swiftly or as though the wind had blown him dropped him into a far-off place so that there is no hope of his being saved.