Then do those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants instead of Me as allies? Indeed, We have prepared Hell for the disbelievers as a lodging.
Hell will be displayed before the Disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection
Allah tells us what He will do to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection. He will show Hell to them, meaning He will bring it forth for them to see its punishment and torment before they enter it. This will intensify their distress and grief. In Sahih Muslim it is recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
(Hell will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, pulled by means of seventy thousand reins, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels.) Then Allah says of them:
According to Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, in the first verse (102): أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَن يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِن دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ (Do, then, the disbelievers deem that they take My servants as patrons beside Me?), there is an elision (حذف hadhf) in the text at this place, that is: فیجد بھم وینتفعون بذلک الاتخاذ As such, it would mean: 'Do these disbelieving people who have taken My servants - instead of Me - as the objects of their worship and the dispensers of their matters and problems think that this make-shift arrangement made by them would bring them some benefit and they would enjoy it?' This is a form of interrogative meant for negation or disapproval. In short, it means that such thinking is wrong, a mark of ignorance.
The word: عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) used here means angels, and the particular prophets whom the people of the world worshiped taking them as partners in the pristine divinity of Allah - as Sayyidna ` Uzair and Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) . Those who worshiped angels were some Arabs. As for those who ascribed partners to Allah, the Jews and Christians both did it. The Jews did it in respect of Sayyidna ` Uzair (علیہ السلام) and the Christians, in respect of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Therefore, meant here by: الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا (al-ladhina kafaru: Those who disbelieved) in this verse are these very groups of disbelievers. Some commentators have taken عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) at this place to mean shaitans. In that case, الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا (those who disbelieved) would mean disbelievers who worship the Jinn and shaitans. Some other commentators have taken is? عبادی (` ibadi: My servants) at this place in the general sense of something created, under mastery, which becomes inclusive of all false objects of worship, idols, fire and stars. Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) has referred to this aspect in the Summary of his Tafsir Bayan al-Qur’ an while explaining servants as subjects. However, the first explanation given above has been rated as weightier in al-Bahr al-Muhit and other Tafsirs. Allah knows best.
The word: أَوْلِيَاءَ (awliya' ) is the plural of وَلِی (waliyy). This word is used in the Arabic language to carry several meanings. At this place, it means one who gets things done, resolves matters, fulfills needs - which is the particular attribute of the true object of worship. The purpose thereby is to take them as objects of worship.
Tazkirul Quran
Maulana Wahiduddin KhanOn ayahs 102–105
Acceptance of the Truth (Reality) is in fact acceptance of God, while denial of the truth is in fact denial of God. Whenever a person refuses to accept the Truth, he does so banking on the apparent strength of some thing or some personality. Such reliance is false, because in this world nobody has any power except God. On the Day of Judgement there will be nobody to save him, because God is the only saviour and such a person would already have lost His support due to his disobedience.
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
