Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL KAHFI [52]

52. And (remember) the Day He will say: ”Call those (so-called) partners of Mine whom you claimed.'' Then they will cry unto them, but they will not answer them, and We shall put Mawbiq between them. 53. And the criminals shall see the Fire and apprehend that they are to fall therein. And they will find no way of escape from it. Allah tells us how He will address the idolators on the Day of Resurrection before all of creation, rebuking and scolding them,

(Call those (so-called) partners of Mine whom you claimed.) meaning, in the world. Call them today to save you from the situation you are in! Allah says:

(And truly, you have come unto Us alone as We created you the first time. You have left what you were given behind your backs and We do see not with you your intercessors whom you claimed were your partners. Now all relations between you and them have been cut off, and all that you used to claim has vanished from you.) ï´¿6:94ï´¾

(Then they will cry unto them, but they will not answer them.) As Allah says:

(And it will be said (to them): ”Call upon those partners of yours,'' then they will call upon them, but they will not answer them.) ﴿28: 64﴾ And the Ayah:

(And who is more astray than one who calls others besides Allah, such as will not answer him) ï´¿46:5ï´¾ Until the end of the two Ayat;

(And they have taken gods besides Allah, that they may grant them honor. Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them.) ï´¿19:81-82ï´¾

(and We shall put Mawbiq between them.) Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and others said: ”Destruction.'' The meaning is that Allah is stating that these idolators will have no way of reaching the gods they claimed in this world. He will separate them in the Hereafter and neither party will have any means of reaching the other. There will be devastation, great horrors and other terrible things in between them. `Abdullah bin `Amr understood the pronoun in the phrase ”between them” to refer to the believers and the disbelievers, meaning that the people of guidance and the people of misguidance will be separated. This then is like the Ayat:

(And on the Day when the Hour will be established -- that Day shall (all men) be separated. ) ï´¿30:14ï´¾

(On that Day men shall be divided.) ï´¿30:43ï´¾,

((It will be said), ”And O you the criminals! Get you apart this Day (from the believers).) ﴿36:59﴾

(And on the Day when We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who joined partners, ”Stop in your place! You and your partners.'' Then We shall separate between them...) until,

(And what they invented will vanish from them.) ï´¿10:28-30ï´¾

(And the criminals shall see the Fire and apprehend that they are to fall therein. And they will find no way of escape from it.) meaning when they see Hell with their own eyes, since it is being dragged forth by seventy thousand reins, each pulled by seventy thousand angels. When,

(the criminals shall see the Fire), they will realize that they cannot escape being thrown into it, and that will only intesify their anxiety and distress, because the anticipation and fear of punishment is in itself a real punishment.

(And they will find no way of escape from it.) means, they will have no way of fleeing, it will be inevitable.