وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ كَذَّبَ بِآيَاتِهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿۲۱﴾ وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَيْنَ شُرَكَاؤُكُمُ الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ ﴿۲۲﴾ ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ ﴿۲۳﴾

﴾21﴿ Wa man azlamu mim manif tara 'alal laahi kaziban aw kazzaba bi Aayaatih; innahoo laa yuflihuz zaalimoon
﴾22﴿ Wa yawma nahshuruhum jamee'an summa naqoolu lillazeena ashrakooo ayna shurakaaa' ukumul lazeena kuntum taz'umoon
﴾23﴿ Summa lam takun fitnatuhum illaaa an qaaloo wallaahi Rabbinaa maa kunnaa mushrikeen

﴾21﴿ And who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah or denies His signs? Surely, the wrongdoers will never succeed.
﴾22﴿ The Day when We gather them all together, then We will say to those who associated others (with Allah): “Where are your partners—those whom you used to claim (would intercede for you)?”
﴾23﴿ So their excuse will be nothing but that they will say, “By Allah, our Lord, we were not among those who committed shirk.”

[21] This is a warning to the polytheists and a mention of the cause of their loss.
(Aftarā) – they fabricate lies against Allah, the Exalted; meaning, they attribute the permissibility of shirk to Allah,
or they falsely claim prophethood.
(Aw kadhdhaba) – or they reject the signs of Tawhid, or they do not accept the verses of the Qur’an.
Both groups are wrongdoers (zālimūn).
Similar statements are also found in verses (93–144) of this Surah and in other Surahs.
[22] This refers to the fear of the Hereafter for the polytheists who associated righteous servants with Allah, the Exalted. On the Day of Judgment, those (false deities) will be absent from them, and those who were worshiped will deny the shirk committed by these people.
(Lilladhīna ashrakū) – Al-Sharbini says this is general, referring to those who worshipped idols, or 'Uzayr, or the Messiah, or darkness and light, and so on.
(Shurakā’ukum) – the attribution (your partners) is because you yourselves called them partners (with Allah).
(Taz‘umūn) – the word za‘m is most often used to refer to false claims or invalid beliefs.
[23] (Wa-Allāhi Rabbinā mā kunnā mushrikīn) – The first meaning is: “By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.”
(They will deny [their shirk], then Allah will seal their mouths, and their limbs will bear witness; after that, they will confess.)
The second meaning is: “What we did was not shirk; it was simply seeking a means and showing love for the righteous.”
The emphasis of the first meaning is found in Surah Al-Mu’min, verse (74),
and support for the second meaning is found in Surah An-Nahl, verse (28).
(Fitnatuhum) – here means their statement, excuse, or argument.
As-Sam‘ani says: when a person becomes attached to something beloved, and then a calamity strikes him because of it, he disavows it.
So it is said: his trial (fitnah) was none other than that attachment itself.