18:102 Al-Kahf (The Cave)

وهذا برهان وبيان، لبطلان دعوى المشركين الكافرين، الذين اتخذوا بعض الأنبياء والأولياء، شركاء لله يعبدونهم، ويزعمون أنهم يكونون لهم أولياء، ينجونهم من عذاب الله، وينيلونهم ثوابه، وهم قد كفروا بالله وبرسله. يقول الله لهم على وجه الاستفهام والإنكار المتقرر بطلانه في العقول: { أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِنْ دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ ْ} أي: لا يكون ذلك ولا يوالي ولي الله معاديا لله أبدا، فإن الأولياء موافقون لله في محبته ورضاه، وسخطه وبغضه، فيكون على هذا المعنى مشابها لقوله تعالى { وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ أَهَؤُلَاءِ إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِنْ دُونِهِمْ ْ} فمن زعم أنه يتخذ ولي الله وليا له، وهو معاد لله، فهو كاذب، ويحتمل -وهو الظاهر- أن المعنى: أفحسب الكفار بالله، المنابذون لرسله، أن يتخذوا من دون الله أولياء ينصرونهم، وينفعونهم من دون الله، ويدفعون عنهم الأذى؟ هذا حسبان باطل، وظن فاسد، فإن جميع المخلوقين، ليس بيدهم من النفع والضر، شيء، ويكون هذا، كقوله تعالى: { قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا ْ} { وَلَا يَمْلِكُ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ الشَّفَاعَةَ ْ} ونحو ذلك من الآيات التي يذكر الله فيها، أن المتخذ من دونه وليا ينصره ويواليه، ضال خائب الرجاء، غير نائل لبعض مقصوده. { إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ نُزُلًا ْ} أي ضيافة وقرى، فبئس النزل نزلهم، وبئست جهنم، ضيافتهم.

ثم قال: " أفحسب الذين كفروا أن يتخذوا عبادي من دوني أولياء " أي اعتقدوا أنهم يصلح لهم ذلك وينتفعون به " كلا سيكفرون بعبادتهم ويكونون عليهم ضدا " ولهذا أخبر الله تعالى أنه قد أعد لهم جهنم يوم القيامة منزلا.

Hell will be displayed before the Disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us what He will do to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection. He will show Hell to them, meaning He will bring it forth for them to see its punishment and torment before they enter it. This will intensify their distress and grief. In Sahih Muslim it is recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«يُؤْتَى بِجَهَنَّمَ تُقَادُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِسَبْعِينَ أَلْفَ زِمَامٍ، مَعَ كُلِّ زِمَامٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ مَلَك»

(Hell will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, pulled by means of seventy thousand reins, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels.) Then Allah says of them:

الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِى غِطَآءٍ عَن ذِكْرِى

((To) those whose eyes had been under a covering from My Reminder,) meaning, they neglected it, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to it, refusing to accept guidance and follow the truth. As Allah says:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

(And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Shaytan to be a companion for him.) 43:36 And here Allah says:

وَكَانُواْ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعاً

(and they could not bear to hear (it). ) meaning, they did not understand the commands and prohibitions of Allah. Then He says:

أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَن يَتَّخِذُواْ عِبَادِى مِن دُونِى أَوْلِيَآءَ

(Do then those who disbelieved think that they can take My servants as Awliya' protectors besides Me) meaning, do they think that this is right for them and that it is going to benefit them

كَلاَّ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَـدَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدّاً

(Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them) 19:82. Allah says that He has prepared Hell as their abode on the Day of Resurrection.

Do the disbelievers reckon that they can take My servants namely My angels as well as Jesus and Ezra as patrons as lords beside Me? awliyā’a ‘as patrons’ constitutes the second direct object of the verb yattakhidhū ‘that they can take’; the second direct object of the verb hasiba ‘reckon’ has been omitted. The meaning is do they suppose that the mentioned ‘taking as patrons’ will not incur My wrath and that I will not punish them for this? No! Truly We have prepared Hell for the disbelievers these the ones mentioned above and others as a place of hospitality in other words it has been prepared for them just as a house is prepared for a guest.

Commentary

According to Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, in the first verse (102): أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا أَن يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِن دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ (Do, then, the disbelievers deem that they take My servants as patrons beside Me?), there is an elision (حذف hadhf) in the text at this place, that is: فیجد بھم وینتفعون بذلک الاتخاذ As such, it would mean: 'Do these disbelieving people who have taken My servants - instead of Me - as the objects of their worship and the dispensers of their matters and problems think that this make-shift arrangement made by them would bring them some benefit and they would enjoy it?' This is a form of interrogative meant for negation or disapproval. In short, it means that such thinking is wrong, a mark of ignorance.

The word: عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) used here means angels, and the particular prophets whom the people of the world worshiped taking them as partners in the pristine divinity of Allah - as Sayyidna ` Uzair and Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) . Those who worshiped angels were some Arabs. As for those who ascribed partners to Allah, the Jews and Christians both did it. The Jews did it in respect of Sayyidna ` Uzair (علیہ السلام) and the Christians, in respect of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Therefore, meant here by: الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا (al-ladhina kafaru: Those who disbelieved) in this verse are these very groups of disbelievers. Some commentators have taken عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) at this place to mean shaitans. In that case, الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا (those who disbelieved) would mean disbelievers who worship the Jinn and shaitans. Some other commentators have taken is? عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) at this place in the general sense of something created, under mastery, which becomes inclusive of all false objects of worship, idols, fire and stars. Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) has referred to this aspect in the Summary of his Tafsir Bayan al-Qur’ an while explaining servants as subjects. However, the first explanation given above has been rated as weightier in al-Bahr al-Muhit and other Tafsirs. Allah knows best.

The word: أَوْلِيَاءَ (awliya' ) is the plural of وَلِی (waliyy). This word is used in the Arabic language to carry several meanings. At this place, it means one who gets things done, resolves matters, fulfills needs - which is the particular attribute of the true object of worship. The purpose thereby is to take them as objects of worship.