Tafseer Ibn Kathir of QAAF [23]

23. And his companion (angel) will say: ”Here is (his record) ready with me!'' 24. (Allah will say to the angels:) ”Both of you throw into Hell every stubborn disbeliever'' 25. ”Hinderer of good, transgressor, doubter,'' 26. ”Who set up another god with Allah. Then both of you cast him in the severe torment.'' 27. His companion (devil) will say: ”Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression, but he was himself in error far astray.'' 28. (Allah) will say: ”Dispute not in front of Me, I had already in advance sent you the threat.'' 29. ”The sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed, and I am not unjust to the servants.'' Allah the Exalted states that the scribe angel, who is entrusted with recording the deeds of mankind, will testify against him or her about the deeds he or she did on the Day of Resurrection. He will say,

(”Here is (his record) ready with me!''), here it is prepared and completed without addition or deletion. This is when Allah the Exalted will judge the creation with fairness, saying,

(Both of you throw into Hell every stubborn disbeliever.) It appears that Allah will say these words to the Sa'iq and Shahid angels; the Sa'iq drove him to the grounds where Reckoning is held and the Shahid testified. Allah the Exalted will order them to throw him in the fire of Jahannam, and worse it is as a destination,

(Both of you throw into Hell every stubborn disbeliever.) meaning, whose disbelief and denial of truth was horrendous, who used to stubbornly reject the truth, knowingly contradicting it with falsehood,

(Hinderer of good,) meaning for he did not fulfill the duties he was ordered, nor was he dutiful, keeping ties to kith and kin nor giving charity,

(transgressor,) meaning, he transgresses the limits in spending. Qatadah commented, ”He is a transgressor in his speech, behavior and affairs.'' Allah said,

(doubter,) meaning, he doubts and raises doubts in those who scrutinize his behavior,

(who set up another god with Allah.) meaning, he associated others with Allah and worshipped others besides Him,

(Then both of you cast him in the severe torment.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that the Prophet said,

(A neck from the Fire will appear and will speak saying, ”Today, I have been entrusted with three: Every obstinate tyrant, everyone who ascribed another god with Allah, and he who took a life without right.'' The neck will then close in on them and throw them in the midst of Jahannam.)'' Allah's saying;

(His companion will say), refers to the devil who is entrusted to every man, according to `Abdullah bin `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah and several othes. He will say,

(Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression,) meaning, the devil will say this about the human who came on the Day of Resurrection as a disbeliever. The devil will disown him, saying,

(Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression) meaning, ”I did not lead him astray,''

(but he was himself in error far astray.) meaning, he himself was misguided, accepting falsehood and stubborn to the truth. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said in another Ayah,

(And Shaytan will say when the matter has been decided: ”Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I called you, and you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me as a partner with Allah. Verily, there is a painful torment for the wrongdoers.'') (14:22) Allah the Exalted said,

((Allah) will say: ”Dispute not in front of Me.'') The Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored will say this to the man and his devil companion, who will be disputing before Him. The man will say, ”O, Lord! This devil has misguided me away from the Remembrance after it came to me,'' while the devil will declare,

(Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression, but he was himself in error far astray.) from the path of truth. The Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored will say to them,

(Dispute not in front of Me,) or `before Me,'

(I had already in advance sent you the threat.) `I have given you sufficient proof by the words of the Messengers, and I have sent down the Divine Books; the evidences, signs and proofs have thus been established against you,'

(The Sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed, ) ”I have made My decision,'' according to the explanation of Mujahid,

(And I am not unjust to the servants.) `I will not punish anyone, except on account of their sins after the proof has been established against them.'