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Or: "beside God". Whenever the relative pronoun ma ("that which" or "all that which") is used in the Qur'an with reference to false objects of worship, it indicates not merely inanimate things (like idols, fetishes, supposedly "holy" relics, etc.) or falsely deified saints, dead or alive, but also forces of nature, real or imaginary, as well as man's "worship" of wealth, power, social position, etc. (See also {10:28-29} and the corresponding notes.)