Tafsir of Saba' 34:40

"And [mention] the Day when He will gather them all together..."

This discourse is an address to the angels, intended to rebuke the disbelievers. It follows the proverbial saying: "I mean you, but listen, O neighbor."

Similar to this is the Almighty’s saying: "Did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" (Al-Ma'idah: 116). Allah—glory be to Him—knows that the angels and Jesus are exalted and innocent of the question posed to them, which is framed in the manner of a confirmation.

The purpose is for Him to ask and for them to answer, so that the rebuke of the disbelievers may be more severe, their humiliation more profound, and their shame greater. It is a binding proof, and the recounting of this is a grace to those who hear it and a deterrent to those to whom it is told.

"Rather, they were allies [of the jinn]..."

Al-Muwalah (allegiance) is the opposite of al-mu'adah (hostility). From this comes the supplication: "O Allah, be an ally to whoever takes him as an ally, and an enemy to whoever takes him as an enemy." It is a reciprocal form (mufa'ala) derived from al-wali, which means nearness, just as al-mu'adah is derived from al-'udwa, which means distance. The term wali applies to both the one who takes an ally and the one who is taken as an ally.

The meaning is: "You are the One whom we take as an Ally, to the exclusion of them, for there is no allegiance between us and them." By affirming their allegiance to Allah and their hostility toward the disbelievers, they clarify their innocence of consenting to being worshipped by them, for one in such a state is inherently opposed to that.

"Rather, they used to worship the jinn..." Meaning the devils, as they obeyed them in worshipping other than Allah.

It is also said: The devils fashioned for them images of a group of jinn and said, "These are images of the angels, so worship them."

It is also said: They would enter the interiors of the idols when they were being worshipped, so they were worshipped through the worship of those idols.

(Note: The verb "gather" and "say" are recited in both the first-person plural [nun] and the third-person [ya] forms.)

"So this Day, you do not control for one another any benefit or harm, and We will say to those who wronged, 'Taste the punishment of the Fire, which you used to deny.'"