He said, ‘God forbid (ma‘ādha’Llāhi, [lit.] ‘refuge is with God’, is in the accusative because it is a verbal noun, the verb having been omitted and placed in a genitive annexation with its direct object, in other words, [understand it as] na‘ūdhu bi’Llāhi, ‘we seek refuge with God’) that we should take anyone save him with whom we found our property — he did not say ‘[save] him who stole [our property]’, being careful not to lie; for then truly — if we were to take anyone other than him — we would be evildoers’.