Surah Al-An'aam Verse 23

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعاً ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ أَيْنَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمُ الَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ - ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ - انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُواْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ - وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْراً وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءُوكَ يُجَـدِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِنْ هَـذَآ إِلاَّ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ - وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَيَنْأَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَإِن يُهْلِكُونَ إِلاَّ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

(22. And on the Day when We shall gather them all together, We shall say to those who joined partners in worship (with Us): "Where are your partners (false deities) whom you used to assert (as partners in worship with Allah)'')

(23. There will then be (left) no Fitnah for them but to say: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others (in worship with Allah).'')

(24. Look! How they lie against themselves! But the (lie) which they invented will disappear from them.)

(25. And of them there are some who listen to you; but We have set veils on their hearts, so they understand it not, and deafness in their ears; if they see every one of the Ayat they will not believe therein; to the point that when they come to you to argue with you, those who disbelieve say: "These are nothing but tales of the men of old.'')

(26. And they prevent others from him and they themselves keep away from him, and (by doing so) they destroy none but themselves, yet they perceive (it) not.)

The Polythiests Shall be Questioned About the Shirk They Committed

About the polytheists, Allah said:

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعاً

(And on the Day when We shall gather them all together,) This is on the Day of Resurrection, when He will ask them about the idols and rivals that they worshipped instead of Him. Allah will say to them,

أَيْنَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمُ الَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ

(Where are your partners (false deities) whom you used to assert (as partners in worship with Allah)) Allah said in Surat Al-Qasas,

وَيَوْمَ يُنَـدِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ أَيْنَ شُرَكَآئِىَ الَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ

(And (remember) the Day when He will call to them, and say, "Where are My (so-called) partners whom you used to assert'') 28:62. Allah's statement,

ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ

(There will then be (left) no Fitnah for them) means, argument. `Ata' Al-Khurasani said that,

ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ

(There will then be (left) no Fitnah for them) in the face of the affliction that will be placed on them,

إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ

(but to say: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others (in worship with Allah).'') Allah said next,

انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُواْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ

(Look! How they lie against themselves! But the (lie) which they invented will disappear from them.) which is similar to His other statement,

ثُمَّ قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ تُشْرِكُونَ - مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ قَـالُواْ ضَـلُّواْ عَنَّا بَل لَّمْ نَكُنْ نَّدْعُواْ مِن قَبْلُ شَيْئاً كَذَلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الْكَـفِرِينَ

(Then it will be said to them: "Where are (all) those whom you used to join in worship as partners. Besides Allah'' They will say, "They have vanished from us: Nay, we did not invoke (worship) anything before.'' Thus Allah leads astray the disbelievers.) 40:73-74

The Miserable Do Not Benefit from the Qur'an

Allah's statement,

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْراً وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا

(And of them there are some who listen to you; but We have set veils on their hearts, so they understand it not, and deafness in their ears; if they see every one of the Ayat they will not believe therein;) means, they come to you, (O Muhammad ), so that they hear you recite the Qur'an, but its recitation does not benefit them, because Allah has set veils on their hearts, and so they do not understand the Qur'an,

وَفِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا

(and (set) deafness in their ears;) that prevents them from hearing what benefits them. In another Ayah, Allah said;

وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِى يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ إِلاَّ دُعَآءً وَنِدَآءً

(And the example of those who disbelieve, is as that of him who shouts at one who hears nothing but calls and cries.) 2:171 Allah said next,

وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا

(if they see every one of the Ayat they will not believe therein;) meaning, they will not believe in any of the Ayat, proofs, clear evidences and signs they witness because they do not have sound comprehension or fair judgment. In another Ayah, Allah said,

وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لأَسْمَعَهُمْ

(Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen.) 8:23 Allah said,

حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءُوكَ يُجَـدِلُونَكَ

(to the point that when they come to you to argue with you...) using falsehood against truth,

يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِنْ هَـذَآ إِلاَّ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ

(those who disbelieve say: "These are nothing but tales of the men of old.'') The disbelievers say, what you (O Muhammad ) brought us was taken from the books of those who were before us, meaning plagiarized,

وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَيَنْأَوْنَ عَنْهُ

(And they prevent others from him and they themselves keep away from him,) They discourage people from following the truth, believing in Muhammad and obeying the Qur'an,

وَيَنْأَوْنَ عَنْهُ

(and they themselves keep away from him,) They thus combine both evil acts, for they neither benefit themselves, nor let others benefit from the Prophet . `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah,

وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ

(And they prevent others from him.) means, they hinder people from believing in Muhammad . Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyyah said, "The disbelievers of Quraysh used to refrain from meeting Muhammad and they discouraged people from coming to him.'' Similar was reported from Qatadah, Mujahid and Ad-Dahhak and several others.

وَإِن يُهْلِكُونَ إِلاَّ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

(and (by doing so) they destroy not but themselves, yet they perceive (it) not.) They destroy themselves by committing this evil action, and its harm will only touch them. Yet, they do not perceive this fact!