وَقَالُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ ﴿۱۵﴾ أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ ﴿۱۶﴾ أَوَآبَاؤُنَا الْأَوَّلُونَ ﴿۱۷﴾ قُلْ نَعَمْ وَأَنْتُمْ دَاخِرُونَ ﴿۱۸﴾ فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَإِذَا هُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ ﴿۱۹﴾ وَقَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا هَذَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ ﴿۲۰﴾ هَذَا يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ ﴿۲۱﴾ احْشُرُوا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ ﴿۲۲﴾ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَاهْدُوهُمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْجَحِيمِ ﴿۲۳﴾ وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَسْئُولُونَ ﴿۲۴﴾ مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنَاصَرُونَ ﴿۲۵﴾ بَلْ هُمُ الْيَوْمَ مُسْتَسْلِمُونَ ﴿۲۶﴾ وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ ﴿۲۷﴾ قَالُوا إِنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ تَأْتُونَنَا عَنِ الْيَمِينِ ﴿۲۸﴾

﴾15﴿ Wa qaalooo in haazaa illaa sihrum mubeen
﴾16﴿ 'A-izaa mitnaa wa kunnaa turaabanw wa 'izaaman 'a innaa lamab'oosoon
﴾17﴿ Awa aabaa'unal awwaloon
﴾18﴿ Qul na'am wa antum daakhiroon
﴾19﴿ Fa innamaa hiya zajra tunw waahidatun fa izaa hum yanzuroon
﴾20﴿ Wa qaaloo yaa wailanaa haazaa Yawmud-Deen
﴾21﴿ Haazaa Yawmul Faslil lazee kuntum bihee tukaziboon
﴾22﴿ Uhshurul lazeena zalamoo wa azwaajahum wa maa kaanoo ya'budoon
﴾23﴿ Min doonil laahi fahdoohum ilaa siraatil Jaheem
﴾24﴿ Wa qifoohum innahum mas'ooloon
﴾25﴿ Maa lakum laa tanaasaroon
﴾26﴿ Bal humul Yawma mustaslimoon
﴾27﴿ Wa aqbala ba'duhum 'alaa ba'diny yatasaaa'aloon
﴾28﴿ Qaalooo innakum kuntum taatoonanaa 'anil yameen

﴾15﴿ And they say, "This is nothing but clear magic
﴾16﴿ Shall we, when we have died and become dust and bones, indeed be resurrected again
﴾17﴿ Shall our forefathers (the first ones) also be resurrected
﴾18﴿ Say, Yes, and you will be humiliated
﴾19﴿ Then it is but a single mighty cry, and at once they will see
﴾20﴿ And they will say, Oh, woe to us! This is the Day of Recompense
﴾21﴿ (It will be said,) This is the Day of Judgment which you used to deny
﴾22﴿ (It will be said,) Gather those who did wrong, along with their companions and what they used to worship
﴾23﴿ Except for Allah, the Exalted, then lead them to the path of Hell
﴾24﴿ And stop them; indeed, they will be questioned
﴾25﴿ What is wrong with you that you do not help one another
﴾26﴿ Rather, today they are in full submission
﴾27﴿ And they will turn to one another, questioning each other
﴾28﴿ They will say (the followers), 'Indeed, you used to come to us, forcing us away from the truth

[from 16 to 21] In this verse, there is a rebuke (زجر) for denying resurrection after death (بعث بعدالموت).
The phrase uses the interrogative particle (همزه استفهام) three times, indicating the extreme absurdity and denial of the disbelievers.
"يَنْظُرُونَ" is general and has multiple interpretations:
– It may mean looking at one another, observing the condition they are in.
– Or it could mean awaiting the outcome or punishment.
– Or, as a metaphor, it refers to being brought back to life.
Imām Al-Biqāʿī said that “nadhar” (looking) is mentioned specifically because looking cannot occur without life, whereas other senses may still be imagined without full life.
"هَذَا يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ" (This is the Day of Decision)—this may either be a statement of the deniers to one another, or a declaration from Allah to them.
Benefit: In this verse, two names of the Day of Judgment are mentioned:
1. Yawm al-Dīn (Day of Recompense)
2. Yawm al-Faṣl (Day of Judgment and Separation)
[from 22 to 26] In this verse, five aspects of the Hereafter warning (تخویف اُخروی) are mentioned in detail: 1. Gathering (حشر) on the Day of Judgment.
2. Driving them toward the path of Hell.
3. Stopping them for questioning and accountability.
4. Their inability to help or support one another.
5. Being humiliated and forced into submission out of helplessness.
"وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ" refers to those who resemble them in types of sins and disbelief—
meaning: idol-worshippers with idol-worshippers, star-worshippers with star-worshippers, grave-worshippers with grave-worshippers, fornicators with fornicators, drinkers with drinkers, innovators with innovators.
In common speech, these are sometimes called “peer groups” (پیربایان).
"وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ"—refers to the religious leaders and elders whom common people used to obey in shirk, innovation, and sin, and those leaders were pleased with it.
"مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنَاصَرُونَ"—this is part of the questioning, and a refutation of their worldly claims that their so-called deities and leaders would support them.
Here, “support” (نصرت) means being saved from punishment, which they falsely expected in the world.
[from 27 to 32] (Connection): Since it was shown that they remain silent in response to questioning, a doubt may arise—are they mute? Are their tongues sealed?
To remove this doubt, the verse clarifies that they do speak and blame one another.
These verses contain Hereafter warnings by describing the scene of disavowal between false deities and their worshippers on the Day of Judgment.
"سُلْطَانٍ" here means proof or evidence—i.e., we never gave you any proof or authority to worship us.
Another interpretation is that "سلطان" refers to power or compulsion—i.e., we did not force you to worship us.
"فَأَغْوَيْنَاكُمْ"—the meaning is: We did not compel you, nor did we give you any evidence; we merely called you to misguidance so that we would have more followers in falsehood, and you accepted our call willingly.
This highlights the shared guilt but also the fact that the followers were not forced, they chose misguidance by their own will.