“Wa-mā lahum min nāṣirīn”
“They will have no helpers.” (Āl ʿImrān 3:22, excerpt)
The plural “nāṣirīn” denies any available rescuers. An explanatory singular “not even a helper” conveys the force of the negation. In negative constructions, an indefinite noun can indicate comprehensive absence rather than a precise count.
Compare “min aḥadin ʿanhu ḥājizīn” (al-Ḥāqqah 69:47, excerpt), where a singular “anyone” is paired with a plural expression for those who could prevent the act. The wider audience and the denial of every possible intervener matter more than an isolated word count.
Singular–plural variation may express scope, emphatic negation or a shift of the semantic referent.