قُلْ هَلْ مِنْ شُرَكَائِكُمْ مَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ قُلِ اللَّهُ يَهْدِي لِلْحَقِّ أَفَمَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لَا يَهِدِّي إِلَّا أَنْ يُهْدَى فَمَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ ﴿۳۵﴾ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ إِلَّا ظَنًّا إِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿۳۶﴾ وَمَا كَانَ هَذَا الْقُرْآنُ أَنْ يُفْتَرَى مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَكِنْ تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَتَفْصِيلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿۳۷﴾

﴾35﴿ Qul hal min shurakaaa 'ikum mai yahdeee ilal haqq; qulil laahu yahdee lilhaqq; afamai yahdeee ilal haqqi ahaqqu ai yuttaba'a ammal laa yahiddeee illaaa ai yuhdaa famaa lakum kaifa tahkumoon
﴾36﴿ Wa maa yattabi'u aksaruhum illaa zannaa; innaz zanna laa yughnee minal haqqi shai'aa; innal laaha 'Aleemun bimaa yaf'aloon
﴾37﴿ Wa maa kaana haazal Qur'aanu ai yuftaraa min doonil laahi wa laakin tasdeeqal lazee baina yadaihi wa tafseelal Kitaabi laa raiba feehee mir Rabbil 'aalameen

﴾35﴿ Say, Is there any of your partners (false gods) who guides to the truth, Say, Allah alone guides to the truth. So, is the one who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or the one who cannot find the way unless he is guided? What is wrong with you? How do you judge (without reason)
﴾36﴿ And they follow nothing but conjecture (in associating partners with Allah). Verily, conjecture avails nothing against the truth. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing of what they do
﴾37﴿ And this Quran is not such that it could be made by anyone other than Allah, but it has been revealed to confirm the scriptures that came before it and to provide a detailed explanation of the decreed rulings. There is no doubt in it; it is from the Lord of all worlds

[35] This too is a refutation of the polytheists, for your partners cannot guide to the truth; only Allah the Exalted can truly guide. So how then did you make them partners of Allah the Exalted? In the previous verse, there is a refutation of those who associate righteous servants as partners and of shirk in divinity (uluhiyyah), while in this verse, there is a refutation of shirk in legislation (hukm), where the polytheists associate scholars and monks—meaning your partners who are misguided elders and religious leaders—who cannot guide towards the truth. Rather, they themselves are in need of guidance from Allah the Exalted. The proof for this is in the word "أَنْ يُتَّبَعَ", because guidance and following are not appropriate for idols.
(إِلَى الْحَقِّ) and (لِلْحَقِّ): The difference is that the first means showing the way towards the truth, while the second means leading upon the path of truth. This distinction in the explanation of guidance has already been discussed in the interpretation of Surah Al-Fatiha. The first type (showing the way) can be done by a creation, but the second type (truly guiding) cannot be done by any creation. For this reason, "إِلَى" (toward) is mentioned with the partners, and "لِ" (to/upon) is mentioned with Allah the Exalted.
(كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ) – How do you judge? That is, you abandon the religion of Allah the Exalted and instead follow the misguided ones.
[36] In the previous verse, the refutation was solely against following misguided people, as that is the practice of those astray. Now, it refutes following conjecture, which is also a trait of the misguided—because their only basis is speculation, not certainty. And certainty cannot be established through conjecture.
(أَكْثَرُهُمْ) – “Most of them” is mentioned because some follow their desires, while most follow conjecture. Or, by "most", it refers to their leaders, as mentioned by Al-Khazin.
The essence is that these polytheists regard their false gods as intercessors and worship them. This is based on conjecture, as there is no revelation or evidence to support it. Here, "conjecture" (ظن) means doubt or unproven claims.
Alternatively, "conjecture" may refer to a type of reasoning that is speculative—even if it is based on religious texts. However, in matters of belief ('aqidah), only certain (definitive) evidence is valid. Speculative religious proofs may establish rulings, but they cannot be the foundation of beliefs. This has been explained similarly in verse 28 of Surah An-Najm.
Note: This verse is proof that speculative evidence is not sufficient in matters of belief, as stated in the commentary of Al-Qurtubi.
[37] In this verse, the truth of the Noble Qur’an is affirmed through the mention of five of its qualities:
1. It is not a fabrication.
2. It confirms the previous scriptures.
3. It details essential rulings.
4. It is free from doubt.
5. It is from Allah the Exalted.
The connection with the previous verse is that you should abandon conjecture and come to certain proof—which is the Noble Qur’an.
In (تَصْدِيقَ), a hidden verb like kāna (was) or unzila (was revealed) is implied before it.