His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And the Day He gathers them and what they used to worship besides Allah, He will say, "Did you mislead My servants, or were they themselves astray from the path?"﴾ ﴿They will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for us to take other than You as allies, but You gave them and their forefathers enjoyment until they forgot the message and were a people ruined."﴾ ﴿So they have denied what you say, so you will not be able to avert [the punishment] or obtain help. And whoever of you does wrong, We will make him taste a great punishment."

The meaning: And remember the Day, and the pronoun in "He gathers them" refers to the disbelievers. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And what they worship﴾ means by it everything that was worshipped besides Allah. He emphasized the expression about that which does not have understanding, referring to the idols, because they were the majority at the time of addressing.

(p-425) Ibn Kathir, and Asim - in the narration of Hafs - and Al-A'raj, and Abu Ja'far read: "He gathers them" and "He will say" with a 'ya' in both. And Ibn 'Amir read with a 'noon' in both, which is the reading of Al-Hasan, and Talhah, and also Asim. And Nafi' read "We gather them" with a 'noon' and "He will say" with a 'ya'. And in the reading of Abdullah: "And what they worship besides You," and Al-A'raj read "We gather them" with a kasra on the sheen, which is rare in usage but strong in analogy; because "He does" with a kasra on the 'ain in the transitive is more analogous than "He does" with a damma on the 'ain.

And this verse contains the news that Allah, exalted and glorified is He, reproaches the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection by stopping the objects of worship on this meaning; so that the answer occurs with disavowal of the sin, and disgrace falls upon the disbelievers.

And people have differed regarding the responding position in this verse. The majority of the interpreters said: It is everyone who was wronged by being worshipped among those who have understanding: like the angels, 'Uzayr, 'Isa, and others. And Al-Dahhak and 'Ikrimah said: The responding position is the idols which do not understand, which Allah, exalted and glorified is He, will appoint on that day for this statement, and the disgrace of the disbelievers will come as a result.

And the majority of the people read: "Nattakhdh" with a فتح (fath) on the نون (noon), and they went with the meaning to that it is from the saying of one who has intellect. They stated that this verse is similar to that which is in Surah Saba: ﴿And the Day He gathers them all together, then He says to the angels, 'Was it you that these were worshipping?'﴾ [Saba: 40] ﴿They will say, 'Glory be to You! You are our protector instead of them.'﴾ [Saba: 41], and like the saying of Jesus, peace be upon him: ﴿I did not say to them except what You commanded me.﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 117], and ﴿min awliya﴾ - in this reading - is in the position of the object. Abu Ja'far, Al-Hasan, Abu Darda, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Rujai, Nasr ibn Alqamah, Makhlul, Zayd ibn Ali, and Hafs ibn Humayd read: "Nuttakhidh" with a ضم (dham) on the نون (noon), and this goes with the view of those who see that the position is that the idols respond. The reading is weakened by the inclusion of "min" in His saying: "min awliya", as said by Sa'id ibn Jubair and others. Abu Al-Fath said: "min awliya" is in the position of the حال (hal), and "min" has entered as an addition for the place of the preceding negation, as you say: I did not take Zayd as an agent. Alqamah read: "ma yanbaghi" with the omission of "kana". Its establishment is more possible in meaning; for they informed about a state that existed in the world, and the time of the informing has no action in it.

And this responder interpreted - according to the disagreement in it - the reason for the misguidance of the disbelievers, how it occurred? And that when Allah, the Exalted, granted them worldly blessings and bestowed them upon them and their ancestors for long ages, they forgot the remembrance, meaning: what was reminded to the people on the tongues of the prophets.

And "bawran" means: perished, and البوار (al-bawar): destruction. There is disagreement in its wording. A group said: it is a مصدر (masdar) by which both the plural and singular are described, and from it is the saying of Ibn Al-Zib'ari:

O Messenger of the King, indeed my tongue is a patch that I did not tear when I am بوار.

And a group said: it is the plural of بائر (bair), which is that which has departed from good, thus it has attained in the ruling of destruction, whether it has faced destruction or not. Al-Hasan said: the بائر is that which has no good in it.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Indeed, they have denied you﴾, is a speech from Allah, blessed and exalted, without disagreement. So whoever said: "Indeed, the responder is the idols" means by this His informing the disbelievers that their idols have denied them. And in this informing is disgrace and reproach. The group that said: "Indeed, the responder is the angels, and 'Uzayr, and Jesus, and those like them" disagreed in who is being addressed by this verse. A group said: the addressed are the disbelievers in the context of reproach and reprimand. And a group said: the addressed are these (p-427) worshipped ones, Allah, the Exalted, informed them that the disbelievers, by their vile actions, have denied this statement, and they claimed that these are the protectors besides Allah, the Exalted. And a group said: Allah, the Exalted, addressed the believers from the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, meaning: the disbelievers have denied you, O believers, in what you say of monotheism and the law.

Ibn Kathir and Abu Bakr read from Asim, and the people: "You say" with the ت from above, "they are able" with the ي from below. Abu Hatim preferred this. Abu Haywah read: "They say" with the ي from below, "so what you are able" with the ت from above. Mujahid said: The pronoun in "they are able" refers to the polytheists. Al-Tabari said: In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "So what they are able to do for you is nothing," and in the recitation of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "Indeed, they have denied you, so what they are able to do for you is nothing." Abu Hatim said regarding the letter of Abdullah: "For you is nothing" based on the plural of the pronoun.

And "nothing" means: the rejection of denial or punishment or what the meaning necessitates, according to the previous disagreement.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And whoever among you wrongs" it is said: This is addressed to the disbelievers, and it is said: It is for the believers. And wrongdoing is polytheism, as said by Al-Hasan and Ibn Jurayj, and it may include other sins. In the letter of Ubayy: "And whoever lies among you, We will make him taste a painful punishment."