Surah 34

Surah 34:40

"On the Day when He gathers them all together, He will say to the angels, ‘(Was it) you these were serving?’"
The Angels will disown Their Worshippers on the Day of Resurrection Verses 34:40-42
Show Full Scripture Context (34:40-42) — 3 Verses
Verse 40

وَيَوۡمَ يَحۡشُرُهُمۡ جَمِيعٗا ثُمَّ يَقُولُ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ إِيَّاكُمۡ كَانُواْ يَعۡبُدُونَ

On the Day when He gathers them all together, He will say to the angels, ‘(Was it) you these were serving?’

Verse 41

قَالُواْ سُبۡحَٰنَكَ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِن دُونِهِمۖ بَلۡ كَانُواْ يَعۡبُدُونَ ٱلۡجِنَّۖ أَكۡثَرُهُم بِهِم مُّؤۡمِنُونَ

They will say, ‘Glory to You! You are our ally, not they. No! They used to serve the jinn – most of them believed in them.’

Verse 42

فَٱلۡيَوۡمَ لَا يَمۡلِكُ بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٖ نَّفۡعٗا وَلَا ضَرّٗا وَنَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ ذُوقُواْ عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ٱلَّتِي كُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ

‘So today none of you has power to (cause) another benefit or harm.’ And We shall say to those who did evil, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire which you called a lie.’

Allah tells us that on the Day of Resurrection, He will rebuke the idolators before all of creation. He will ask the angels whom the idolators used to worship, claiming that their idols were in the form of these angels and that they could bring them nearer to Allah. He will ask the angels:

Quoted Scripture
"it you that these people used to worship?"

meaning, ‘did you command them to worship you?’ Allah says in Surat Al-Furqarc
{Was it you who misled these My servants or did they (themselves) stray from the (right) path?} (25:17).

And He will say to Isa, peace be upon him:
{Did you say unto men : "Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?,' He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say)."} (5:116).
Similarly, the angels will say:

{Glorified be You!} meaning, ‘exalted and sanctified be You above the notion that there could be any god besides You.’

{You are our Protector instead of them .} means, *we are Your servants and we disown these people before You.’

Quoted Scripture
"Nay, but they used to worship the jinn;"

meaning, the Shayatin, because they are the ones who made idol worship attractive to them and who misguided them.

{most of them were believers in them} This is like the Ayah:
{They invoke nothing but females besides Him, and they invoke nothing but Shaytan, a persistent rebel! Allah cursed him } (4:117-118).

Allah says:
{So Today, none of you can profit or harm one another. }

means, ‘none of those idols and rivals whom you hoped would benefit you, will be of any avail to you, those whom you worshipped in the hope that they would help you at times of stress and calamity. Today they will have no power either to benefit you or to harm you.’

{And We shall say to those who did wrong:)} - meaning the idolaters -

Quoted Scripture
""Taste the torment of the Fire which you used to deny.""

meaning, this will be said to them by way of rebuke.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.