وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَقُولُ أَأَنتُمْ أَضْلَلْتُمْ عِبَادِي هَٰؤُلَاءِ أَمْ هُمْ ضَلُّوا السَّبِيلَ (17)
(25:17) And on that Day (y our Lord will gather :.II these people together as well as their deities, *24 whom they worship besides AIlah. Then He will ask them, "Did you mislead these servants of Mine, or did they themselves go astray?" *25
*24) Here, deities do not mean idols but the angels, the prophets; the saints, the martyrs and the pious men, whom the mushriks of different communities have made their deities.
*25) Such dialogues between Allah and the gods of the disbelievers occur at several places in the Qur'an. For instance, in Surah Saba it has been stated: "On the day when He will gather them all together, He will ask the angels, 'Did these people worship you?' They will answer, `Glory be to Thee ! Thou art our Patron and not they: they in fact worshipped the jinns (that is, satans); most of these believed in them." (vv. 40-41). Similarly in Surah Al-Ma'idah, it is said:" And when AIIah will say "O Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever say to the people: `Make me and my mother gods instead of Allah?' He will answer, `Glory be to Thee ! It did not behove me to say that which I had no right to say...I told them only that which Thou didst bid me: 'Worship Allah, Who is myLord as well as your Lord'." (vv. 116, 117).