Allah, the Exalted, informs that they said to their Prophet,

﴿مَا جِئْتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٍ﴾

(No evidence have you brought us.) This means that they claimed that Hud had not brought them any proof or evidence for what he claimed.

﴿وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَارِكِى ءالِهَتِنَا عَن قَوْلِكَ﴾

(and we shall not leave our gods for your (mere) saying!) They were saying how could his mere statement, "Leave these gods,'' be sufficient proof for them to leave their idols

﴿وَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾

(and we are not believers in you.) This means that they did not believe what he was saying was true.

﴿إِن نَّقُولُ إِلاَّ اعْتَرَاكَ بَعْضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوءٍ﴾

(All that we say is that some of our gods have seized you with evil.) They were saying, "We think that some of our idols have afflicted you with madness and insanity in your intellect because you are trying to stop them from being worshipped and defame them.''

﴿قَالَ إِنِّى أُشْهِدُ اللَّهِ وَاشْهَدُواْ أَنِّى بَرِىءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَمِن دُونِهِ﴾

(He said: "I call Allah to witness and bear you witness, that I am free from that which you ascribe as partners in worship besides Him (Allah).)﴿11:54-55﴾ Here, he is saying, "Verily, I am innocent of all of the rivals and idols (that you associate with Allah).

﴿فَكِيدُونِى جَمِيعًا﴾

(So plot against me, all of you,) you and your gods if they are true.''

﴿ثُمَّ لاَ تُنظِرُونِ﴾

(and give me no respite.) the blinking of an eye.'' Then, Allah says,

﴿إِنِّى تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّى وَرَبِّكُمْ مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ ءاخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَآ﴾

(I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving creature but He has the grasp of its forelock.) Every creature is under His (Allah's) power and His authority. He is the Best Judge, the Most Just, Who does not do any injustice in His ruling. For verily, He is upon the straight path. Verily, this argument contains a far-reaching proof and absolute evidence of the truthfulness of what Hud had come to them with. It also proves the falsehood of them worshipping idols that could not benefit nor harm them. Rather, these idols were inanimate objects that could not hear, see, befriend, or make enmity. The only One Who is worthy of having worship directed solely towards Him is Allah alone, without any partners. He is the One in Whose Hand is the sovereignty and He is in control of all things. There is nothing except that it is under His owner- ship, power and authority. Thus, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord other than Him.

﴿فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلَيْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلاَ تَضُرُّونَهُ شَيْئًا إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌ - وَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا هُودًا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَنَجَّيْنَاهُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ - فوَتِلْكَ عَادٌ جَحَدُواْ بِآيَـتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَصَوْاْ رُسُلَهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ أَمْرَ كُلِّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ - وَأُتْبِعُواْ فِى هَـذِهِ الدُّنْيَا لَعْنَةً وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ أَلا إِنَّ عَادًا كَفَرُواْ رَبَّهُمْ أَلاَ بُعْدًا لِّعَادٍ قَوْمِ هُودٍ ﴾

(57. So if you turn away, still I have conveyed the Message with which I was sent to you. My Lord will make another people succeed you, and you will not harm Him in the least. Surely, my Lord is Guardian over all things.) (58. And when Our commandment came, We saved Hud and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us, and We saved them from a severe torment.) (59. Such were ﴿the people of﴾ `Ad. They rejected the Ayat of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers, and followed the command of every proud, obstinate (oppressor of the truth from their leaders).) (60. And they were pursued by a curse in this world and (so they will be) on the Day of Resurrection. No doubt! Verily, `Ad disbelieved in their Lord. So away with `Ad, the people of Hud.) Hud says to them, "If you turn away from that which I have brought to you in reference to worship of Allah, Who is your Lord alone, without any partners, then the proof has been established against you. This is because I have conveyed the Message of Allah to you, which He has sent me with.''

﴿وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّى قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ﴾

(My Lord will make another people succeed you, ) This refers to a group of people who will worship Allah alone, without associating anything with Him. This also implies that the polytheists do not bother Allah and they do not harm Him in the least with their disbelief. To the contrary, their disbelief merely harms their own selves.

﴿إِنَّ رَبِّى عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَفِيظٌ﴾

(Surely, my Lord is Guardian over all things.) This means that Allah is a Witness and Guardian over the statements of His servants and their actions. He will give them due recompense for their actions. If they do good deeds, He will reward them with good. If they do evil, He will punish them with evil.