Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ASH SHAAFFAAT [27]

27. And they will turn to one another and question one another. 28. They will say: ”It was you who used to come to us from the right side.'' 29. They will reply: ”Nay, you yourselves were not believers.'' 30. ”And we had no authority over you. Nay! But you were a transgressing people.'' 31. ”So now the Word of our Lord has been justified against us, that we shall certainly taste (the torment).'' 32. ”So we led you astray because we were ourselves astray.'' 33. Then verily, that Day, they will (all) share in the torment. 34. Certainly, that is how We deal with the criminals. 35. Truly, when it was said to them: ”La ilaha illallah,'' they puffed themselves up with pride. 36. And (they) said: ”Are we going to abandon our gods for the sake of a mad poet'' 37. Nay! he has come with the truth and he confirms the Messengers. Allah tells us that the disbeliever will blame one another in the arena of Resurrection, just as they will argue with one another in the levels of Hell:

(The weak will say to those who were arrogant: ”Verily, we followed you, can you then take from us some portion of the Fire'' Those who were arrogant will say: ”We are all (together) in this (Fire)! Verily, Allah has judged between (His) servants!'') (40:47-48)

(But if you could see when the wrongdoers will be made to stand before their Lord, how they will cast the (blaming) word one to another! Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: ”Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!'' And those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak: ”Did we keep you back from guidance after it had come to you Nay, but you were criminals.'' Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: ”Nay, but it was your plotting by night and day, when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals to Him!'' And each of them (parties) will conceal their own regrets, when they behold the torment. And We shall put iron collars round the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught except what they used to do) (34:31-33) Similarly, they are described here as saying:

(It was you who used to come to us from the right side.) Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn `Abbas said; ”They will say, `You used to force us because of your position of power over us, for we were weak and you were strong.''' Qatadah said, ”Men will say to the Jinn, `You used to come to us from the right side to block every good deed, and you told us not to do it and you tried to put obstacles in our way.''' As-Suddi said, ”`You used to come to us to block the truth, and you made falsehood look attractive to us, and you prevented us from seeing the truth.'' Ibn Zayd said, it means: ”`You stood in the way between us and goodness, and you repelled us from Islam and faith and doing the good deeds that we had been commanded to do.'' Yazid Ar-Rishk said, ”from La ilaha illallah.''

(They will reply: ”Nay, you yourselves were not believers.'') The leaders of the Jinn and mankind will say to their followers, ”It is not as you say; your hearts denied faith and were open to disbelief and sin.''

(And we had no authority over you.) means, `we had no proof of the truth of that to which we called you.'

(Nay! But you were a transgressing people.) `You yourselves were evildoers and transgressors against the truth, so you responded to us and neglected the truth which the Prophets brought with proof, and you went against them.'

(So now the Word of our Lord has been justified against us, that we shall certainly (have to) taste (the torment). So we led you astray because we were ourselves astray.) Those who were arrogant will say to those who were deemed weak, `the Word of Allah has been justified against us, that we are among the doomed who will taste the punishment of the Day of Resurrection.'

(So we led you astray) means, `so we called you to misguidance,'

(because we were ourselves astray. ) means, `we called you to follow the path which we were on, and you responded.' Allah says:

(Then verily, that Day, they will (all) share in the torment.) means, all of them will be in Hell, each according to what he deserves.

(Certainly, that is how We deal with criminals. Truly, when it was said to them: ”La ilaha illallah,'' they puffed themselves up with pride.) means, in this world they were too arrogant to say these words as the believers said them. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(I have been commanded to fight the people until they say La ilaha ill-Allah. Whoever says La ilaha illallah, he and his property are safe from me except for his obligation, and his reckoning will be with Allah, may He be glorified.) Allah revealed in His Book the story of people who were arrogant, as He says:

(Truly, when it was said to them: ”La ilaha illallah,'' they puffed themselves up with pride. And (they) said: ”Are we going to abandon our gods for the sake of a mad poet'') meaning, `Shall we stop worshipping our gods and the gods of our forefathers just because of the words of this mad poet' -- meaning the Messenger of Allah . Allah said in refutation of their attitude:

(Nay! he has come with the truth) meaning, the Messenger of Allah has brought the truth with all that Allah has revealed to him of stories and commandments.

(and he confirms the Messengers.) means, he fulfills their prophecies of his praiseworthy characteristics and his perfect way, and he tells people of the Laws and commands of Allah, as they said he would.

(Nothing is said to you except what was said to the Messengers before you) (41:43).