وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِيَّاكُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْبُدُونَ 40
Translations
And [mention] the Day when He will gather them all and then say to the angels, "Did these [people] used to worship you?"
Transliteration
Wa-yawma yahshuruhum jamee'an thumma yaqoolu lil-malaa'ikati ahaa'ulaa'i iyyakum kanoo ya'budoon
Tafsir (Explanation)
On the Day of Judgment, Allah will gather all the people together and then ask the angels whether it was they whom the disbelievers used to worship. This is a rhetorical question posed to expose the falsehood of polytheism and the foolishness of those who ascribed partners to Allah. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this ayah emphasizes how the polytheists will be confronted with the reality that they were deluded—the angels never demanded nor accepted worship, and Allah alone is the true object of worship.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Saba (a Meccan surah) within the broader context of addressing polytheism and idolatry practiced in Mecca. The surah discusses various themes of divine oneness, prophethood, and the Day of Judgment. This specific ayah fits within the theme of confronting the disbelievers with their false beliefs on the Day of Resurrection, highlighting the ultimate absurdity of worshipping created beings alongside the Creator.
Related Hadiths
The concept is reinforced in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 4712) where the Prophet (ﷺ) describes the Day of Judgment and how people will come to the prophets asking for intercession. Additionally, Surah Al-Furqan (25:17) presents a similar rhetorical question about worship being directed to false deities, which relates thematically to this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a powerful reminder that worshipping anything or anyone besides Allah is fundamentally irrational and will be exposed as foolishness on the Day of Judgment. For modern believers, it reinforces the importance of maintaining pure monotheism and recognizing that only Allah deserves our worship, devotion, and obedience.
Related Ayahs
وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُۥ فَٱتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And Iblees had already confirmed through them his assumption, so they followed him, except for a party of believers.
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allāh." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.
وَيَرَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِىٓ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ
And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and it guides to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.
أَفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَم بِهِۦ جِنَّةٌۢ ۗ بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ وَٱلضَّلَـٰلِ ٱلْبَعِيدِ
Has he invented about Allāh a lie or is there in him madness?" Rather, they who do not believe in the Hereafter will be in the punishment and [are in] extreme error.