SABA: (40 - 41) And the Day He will gather them all...

Then the Almighty said: {And the Day He will gather them all, then He will say to the angels, "Were these the ones they used to worship?" * They will say, "Exalted are You! You are our Protector, not them. Rather, they used to worship the Jinn; most of them believed in them."}

After clarifying that the state of the Prophet (PBUH) is like that of the Prophets before him, and the state of his people is like that of the disbelievers before them, and after demonstrating the falsehood of their reliance on the abundance of their wealth and children, He explained what will be the consequence of their state: {And the Day He will gather them all} meaning those who denied you and those who came before you. Then We will ask those whom they claimed to worship—who are the angels—since the highest level their status could reach is claiming to worship angels and stars. We will ask the angels, "Were these the ones you used to worship?" as a form of humiliation for them. Each angel will reply, "Exalted are You! We declare You free from having any partner in worship; You are our Protector and the Protector of all creation."

And their saying: {You are our Protector, not them} points to a subtle meaning: people's preferences (in association) differ. Some do not settle in populous, well-established areas because they cannot attain leadership there, so they settle for small, remote lands. Others do not want small lands because they cannot gather many people there or easily access the wise. However, when both groups are offered service to the Sultan (ruler) and association with lowly people who are utterly disregarded, the intelligent person chooses the service of the Sultan over associating with those who are ignored.

If a man settled on a mountain, placed some filth before him, and flies and worms gathered around him while he claimed, "These are my followers and adherents," and he refused to enter the city for fear of needing the service of the great Sultan and frequenting him, he would be considered insane. Similarly, whoever is content to abandon the service and worship of God and is content with the following of the rabble—who are more astray than beasts and less significant than insects—is insane.

Therefore, they said: {You are our Protector, not them}, meaning that Your being our Protector through being the object of worship is more fitting and beloved to us than their being our protectors through being worshipped by us.

And they said: {Rather, they used to worship the Jinn}, meaning they obeyed the command of the Jinn. Thus, in reality, they were worshipping the Jinn, and we were merely like the direction (Qibla) for them, because worship is obedience.

And His saying: {Most of them believed in them}. If someone asked, "If all of them were followers of the devils, what is the meaning of saying {Most of them believed in them}?" This implies that some of them did not believe in them or obey them. We answer this in two ways:

1. The angels guarded against claiming comprehensive knowledge of them by saying "most of them," because those whom the angels observed and whose conditions they were aware of were the ones worshipping and believing in the Jinn. Perhaps there were disbelievers in existence whom God did not reveal to the angels.
2. Worship is an outward act, while belief (Iman) is an inward act. They said: {Rather, they used to worship the Jinn} based on their knowledge of their actions. They said: {Most of them believed in them} regarding the action of the heart, so as not to claim knowledge of what is in the innermost thoughts, as only God has knowledge of the hearts, just as He said: {Indeed, He is the Knower of the innermost thoughts} (Al-Anfal: 43).

7 < {So today none of you will be able to benefit another, nor harm another. And We will say to those who wronged, "Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny."} > 7 ! PageV25P229

Then He clarified that what they used to worship would not benefit them, so He said: {So today none of you will be able to benefit another, nor harm another. And We will say to those who wronged, "Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny."} <