Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:52

And the day He—that is, Allah, the Exalted—says to the disbelievers, by way of rebuke and incapacitation, either through an intermediary or without one. Al-A‘mash, Talhah, Yahya, Ibn Abi Layla, Hamzah, and Ibn Miqsam read: "We say" (naqulu) with the nun of majesty. The discourse follows the meaning of "remember also," that is, "And remember the day He says: 'Call upon My partners whom you claimed.'"

That is, whom you claimed to be intercessors. The attribution [of being "My partners"] is in consideration of what they used to claim; for they used to claim they were partners, just as they claimed they were intercessors. More than one scholar has permitted the interpretation here as assuming the ellipsis: "whom you claimed to be partners." The intended meaning [of the partners] is Iblis and his progeny, and considering them as a substitute for what preceded is based on what is necessitated by the act of those who worshipped them, by obeying them in what they whispered [to them], or [it refers to] everything worshipped besides Allah, the Exalted.

Ibn Kathir read shurakaya (My partners), abbreviated and appended to the ya [i.e., shurakaya].

"So they called them"—that is, they summoned them for relief. This expresses the completeness of their anxious pursuit of their [the idols'] relief by way of intercession, since it is known that there is no path to warding off [punishment].

"But they did not respond to them"—they did not grant them relief, as that was impossible. It is said that in mentioning this, despite its obviousness, there is mockery of them and an intimation that they are in such a state of foolishness that they do not comprehend it except by it being explicitly stated.

"And We placed between them a mawbiq"—a place-noun derived from wabaqa–wubuqan (to perish), like wathaba–wuthuban (to leap), or wabiqa–wabaqan (to perish), like fariha–farahan (to rejoice). It means a place of destruction in which they share, which is the Fire. It has been narrated from Ibn Umar, Anas, and Mujahid that it is a valley in Hell flowing with blood and pus. From ‘Ikrimah, it is a river in the Fire flowing with fire, upon its banks are serpents like large black mules; when they [the disbelievers] rush towards it seeking to escape, they beg to plunge into the [rest of the] Fire instead of it. The interpretation of mawbiq as "destroyer" (muhlik) is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—from Mujahid and others. From Al-Hasan, it is interpreted as "enmity." It is thus a verbal noun applied to the cause of destruction—which is enmity—just as "destruction" (talaf) is applied to hatred (bughd) which leads to it, as in the saying of Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—"Let not your love be infatuation, and let not your hatred be destruction."

From Al-Rabi‘ bin Anas, it is interpreted as "a prison." The meaning of the mawbiq—under all its interpretations—being "between them" is its encompassing them and their being joined in it, just as one says, "I placed the wealth between Zayd and ‘Amr." It is as if ja‘alna (We placed) implies the meaning of qasamna (We divided); in that case, it is not possible to include ‘Isa, ‘Uzayr, the angels—peace be upon them—and their likes among the "partners" according to the second view [regarding the identity of the partners].

Some have said the meaning of the mawbiq—that is, the place of destruction or the prison—being between them is that it is a barrier standing in the middle. This was placed between them to cut off the aspirations of the disbelievers that those whom they called for intercession might reach them. It has been narrated from some of those who interpreted it as a valley that Allah, the Exalted, separates with it between the people of guidance and the people of misguidance; according to this, there is no obstacle to the second meaning [of partners] including those noble ones [the prophets and angels].

Al-Tha‘alibi said in Fiqh al-Lugha that mawbiq signifies a distant barrier (barzakh), based on wabaqa also meaning "to perish." That is, "We placed between them a distant span in which the distances perish due to their extreme remoteness." According to this, it is also permissible to include those mentioned above, because those noble ones—peace be upon them—are in the highest [levels of] Paradise, while these wretched ones are in the bottom of the Fire. It is not hidden to anyone with the slightest reflection what the case would be if mawbiq were taken to mean enmity.

"Between them" (baynahum), in all that was mentioned, is an adverbial modifier. It is the second object of ja‘ala if it is taken to mean "to render" (sayyara), and mawbiqan is its first object. If it is taken to mean "to create," then the adverbial modifier is connected to it, or it is connected to an elided term that functions as an adjective for its object, which was moved forward to observe the [end-of-verse] pauses, thus becoming a state (hal).

Al-Farra and Al-Sirafi said that bayn here means "union" (wasl), for it comes in that meaning just as it comes in the meaning of "separation" (firaq). It is the first object of ja‘alna, and mawbiqan—meaning "their destruction"—is its second object. The meaning [would be]: "We rendered their union in the world a destruction on the Day of Resurrection."