Al-An'am: 128
{And the Day We will gather them together...}
The phrase "the Day" (yawma) is in the accusative case due to an implied verb—that is, "Remember the Day We will gather them," or "On the Day We gather them, We will say..." or "On the Day We gather them, We will say: O company of jinn, there occurred that which cannot be described due to its atrocity." The pronoun refers to those gathered from the two heavy groups (mankind and jinn) and others.
{The jinn are the devils}
{You have acquired many of mankind}
Meaning: You have led many of them astray, or you have made them your followers, such that a vast multitude of them were gathered along with you. Just as one says, "The prince acquired many soldiers," or "So-and-so acquired many followers."
{And their allies among mankind said}
Those who obeyed them and listened to their whispers:
{Our Lord, some of us made use of others}
Meaning: Mankind benefited from the devils by being guided to their desires and the means to attain them. The jinn benefited from mankind by having them obey and assist them in their desires to lead them astray.
It is also said: The "use" of the jinn by mankind refers to what is mentioned in the verse: “And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn” (Al-Jinn: 6). When a man would descend into a valley and fear, he would say, "I seek refuge in the lord of this valley," meaning the leader of the jinn. The "use" of mankind by the jinn was mankind’s acknowledgment that the jinn had the power to protect them and grant them asylum.
{And we have reached our term which You appointed for us}
They mean the Day of Resurrection. This statement is an admission of their past obedience to devils, their following of whims, their denial of the Resurrection, their submission to their Lord, and their regret over their state.
{Abiding eternally therein, except what Allah should will}
Meaning: They will abide in the torment of the Fire for all of eternity, except for what Allah wills—that is, the times when they are moved from the torment of the Fire to the torment of the Zamharir (intense cold). It is narrated that they will enter a valley containing Zamharir that separates their limbs from one another, causing them to howl and beg to be returned to the Hellfire.
Alternatively, it may be like the speech of one who has been wronged and has finally captured his oppressor, while still gnashing his teeth in rage, having been asked to loosen his grip. He says, "May Allah destroy me if I loosen my grip on you, unless I will otherwise." He knows he will never "will" anything but to satisfy his vengeance with the utmost severity and harshness. Thus, his saying "unless I will" is among the most severe forms of threat, combined with mockery of the one promised, as it is phrased as an exception that offers false hope.
{Indeed, your Lord is Wise}
He does nothing except in accordance with wisdom.
{Knowing}
He knows that the disbelievers deserve eternal torment.
{And thus We will make some of the wrongdoers allies of others for what they used to earn.}
