Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:17

(And [mention] the Day He will gather them and that which...)

The phrase "the Day He will gather them" is in the accusative case as the object of an implied preceding verb, which is connected to His saying, "Say, 'Is this better?'" etc. That is, it is said to them: "Is this better?" and mention to them, after the rebuking and the bringing of regret, the Day when Allah—Exalted is His Majesty—will gather them. The intent is to remind them of the terrifying events contained therein, as you have heard in similar instances. Or, it serves as an adverbial time for an implied later verb, which has been omitted to signal the perfection of its terror, the atrocity of what it contains, and to signify that language cannot encompass its description—meaning: "And on the Day He gathers them, there will occur of events and terrors what speech cannot sufficiently describe."

Al-Hasan, Talha, Ibn ‘Amir, and many of the seven readers recited it as "We gather them" (nahshuruhum) using the nun of majesty, by way of shift (iltifat) from the third person to the first person. Al-A‘raj recited it as yahshuruhum with a kasra on the shin. The author of al-Lawami‘ said: "This applies to the entire Quran, and it is the standard rule for transitive triliteral verbs, because yaf‘ulu (with a damma on the middle letter) can come from an intransitive verb which is fa‘ula (with a damma on the middle letter) in the past tense." Ibn ‘Atiyyah stated: "This usage is rare, yet strong according to the rule, because yaf‘ilu (with a kasra on the middle letter) for a transitive verb is more consistent with the rule than yaf‘ulu." There is discussion regarding this that Abu Hayyan mentioned in al-Bahr.

(And that which they worship besides Allah) is connected to the object of "He gathers them," and the waw is not for accompaniment. Abu al-Baqa’ permitted the latter interpretation. The intended meaning of the relative pronoun (ma) according to al-Dahhak, ‘Ikrimah, and al-Kalbi is "idols," based on the fact that the context is about them, and Allah—to whom nothing is impossible—makes them speak. It is also said that they speak through the tongue of state, though that is not the preferred view.

A group reported from Mujahid that the intended meaning is the angels, ‘Isa (Jesus), ‘Uzayr (Ezra), and their likes among the rational beings who were worshipped instead of Allah—Exalted is He. This is the opinion of the majority as stated in al-Bahr, because the question and answer require it, as they are typically restricted to rational beings, even if inanimate objects are made to speak on that day. In the context of the forthcoming interrogation, the text specifies them, such as His saying: "Then We will say to the angels, 'Is it you that these people used to worship?'" and His saying: "Did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" The manifest meaning is that the intent of "that which" (ma) according to this view is the rational beings who were worshipped—those who are not responsible for misguidance, such as the angels and the prophets, peace be upon them—and not those that include them and the devils, for instance, as the response rejects that, as is clear. The relative pronoun "that which" (ma) was used for rational beings either because it is used for them literally, metaphorically, or in view of the description; as if it were said: "And their worshipped ones."

Some esteemed scholars said: The intent is that which encompasses both rational and non-rational beings, either because the word ma is established for everything—as indicated by the fact that if you see a shadow from afar, you say "What is that?"—or because it is intended as a description, thus not being restricted to non-rational beings when intended as an essence, or for the sake of prioritizing the idols over others to warn of their distance from deserving worship, lowering them to the rank of those who have no knowledge or power, or in consideration of the end of their worshippers and their vast numbers.

(He will say)—meaning Allah, Exalted is His Majesty—to those worshipped besides Him, after the gathering of everyone, to rebuke the worshippers and to shame them:

(Did you misguide these, My servants?)—by calling them to worship you. The attribution of "My servants" is said to be for showing compassion, or to emphasize the gravity of their crime for worshipping other than their Creator, or to emphasize the gravity of their misguidance through inviting them to worship them despite their being servants of Allah—Exalted is His Majesty. And (these) is a substitute for it, or it is permissible for it to be an adjective.

(Or did they stray from the path?)—meaning: from the path by themselves due to their failure to observe correctly and their turning away from the guide, whether a book or a messenger. The preposition was omitted and the verb was connected directly to the object, like His saying: "And He guides [to] the path." The original is "from the path" or "for the path."

Some esteemed scholars mentioned that He did not say "from the path" for the purpose of hyperbole. For dalla-hu (he strayed it) means he lost it, while dalla ‘an-hu (he strayed from it) means he departed from it. The first is more hyperbolic because it implies that it does not even exist for him at all. The precedence of the two pronouns over the two verbs is because the intent of the rebuking question is the one who initiates the act, not the act itself.