Allah tells us that when Ibrahim said what he said, his people

فَرَجَعُواْ إِلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ

(turned to themselves) meaning, they blamed themselves for not taking precautions and protecting their gods. They said:

إِنَّكُمْ أَنتُمُ الظَّـلِمُونَ

(Verily, you are the wrongdoers) i.e., because you neglected them and did not guard them.

ثُمَّ نُكِسُواْ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمْ

(Then they turned to themselves) means, they looked at the ground, and said:

لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ

(Indeed you (Ibrahim) know well that these speak not!) Qatadah said: "The people admitted their guilt and confusion, and said,

لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَـؤُلاءِ يَنطِقُونَ

("Indeed you know well that these speak not!") `So how can you tell us to ask them, if they cannot speak and you know that they cannot speak' At this point, when they admitted that, Ibrahim said to them:

أَفَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنفَعُكُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَضُرُّكُمْ

(Do you then worship besides Allah, things that can neither profit you nor harm you) meaning, if they can- not speak and they can neither benefit you nor harm you, then why do you worship them instead of Allah

أُفٍّ لَّكُمْ وَلِمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

(Fie upon you, and upon that which you worship besides Allah! Have you then no sense) `Do you not realize the extent of the mis- guidance and extreme disbelief which you are following, which no one could accept but one who is an igno- rant and evil wrong- doer' He defeated them in argument and left them with no way out. Allah said:

وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهَآ إِبْرَهِيمَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ

e(And that was Our proof which We gave Ibrahim against his people) 6:83