Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 6

(Ayah 6) {وَ اِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُوْا لَهُمْ اَعْدَآءً … :} That is, on the Day of Resurrection, when they will be informed that these people kept calling upon you and kept seeking help from you, they will clearly say that we have no knowledge of this matter that they kept calling upon us, as He said: « وَ يَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيْعًا ثُمَّ نَقُوْلُ لِلَّذِيْنَ اَشْرَكُوْا مَكَانَكُمْ اَنْتُمْ وَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمْ فَزَيَّلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَ قَالَ شُرَكَآؤُهُمْ مَّا كُنْتُمْ اِيَّانَا تَعْبُدُوْنَ (28) فَكَفٰى بِاللّٰهِ شَهِيْدًۢا بَيْنَنَا وَ بَيْنَكُمْ اِنْ كُنَّا عَنْ عِبَادَتِكُمْ لَغٰفِلِيْنَ» [ یونس : ۲۸، ۲۹ ] "And the Day We will gather them all together, then We will say to those who associated partners, 'Stay in your place, you and your partners.' Then We will separate them, and their partners will say, 'You did not use to worship us. So Allah is sufficient as a witness between us and you that indeed we were unaware of your worship.'" And see Surah Al-Qasas (63) and Surah An-Nahl (86). The Messiah (Jesus) (peace be upon him) will also explicitly declare his unawareness of those who worshipped him (see Al-Ma'idah: 116, 117), and so will the angels (see Al-Furqan: 17, 18; Saba: 40, 41). Rather, all those who were worshipped besides Allah will become severe opponents and enemies of those who worshipped and called upon them. See Surah Maryam (81, 82).

6. 1. This subject has been mentioned at several places in the Noble Quran, for example, Surah Yunus, Surah Maryam, Surah Ankabut, and other verses. In the world, there are two types of these objects of worship: one is the non-living things, inanimate objects and manifestations of nature (such as the sun, fire). Allah Almighty will grant them life and the power of speech, and these things will speak and declare that they had absolutely no knowledge that people worshipped them and considered them partners in Your divinity. Some say that this will not be with the tongue of speech, but with the tongue of state—they will express their feelings in this way. And Allah knows best. The second type of objects of worship are those from among the Prophets (peace be upon them), angels, and the righteous, such as Isa, Hazrat Uzair (peace be upon them), and other righteous servants of Allah. They will give a similar answer in the court of Allah as the answer of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him) is mentioned in the Noble Quran. In addition, The devils will also deny, as their statement is quoted in the Quran: تبرأنا الیک ما کانوا ایانا یعبدون۔ القصص۔ "We declare our disassociation before You (from our worshippers); they did not worship us."

6. And when the people are gathered together, they will become their enemies [7] and will deny their worship.

[7]
Here, by ﴿من دون الله﴾, idols are not meant, but rather deceased elders:

It is clearly understood from verse numbers 5 and 6 that lifeless deities are not meant here. Because only lifeless deities can be such that they have nothing to do with enmity and friendship, nor can they deny worship. Inevitably, only living deities can be meant here. Then, among the living, angels are out of the question, because they will not be gathered for judgment. Only jinn, prophets, saints, and the like remain, upon whom jealousy, enmity, and denial of worship can all apply. Then, even among such deities, there are two types. One is prophets and rightly guided saints; they will say to their worshippers: “Wretched ones! We ourselves spent our whole lives praying only to Allah and kept instructing you to do the same. Then how did you turn things upside down and start calling upon us?” The enmity of such people towards their worshippers is clearly evident. The second type are those deities who themselves wanted people to acknowledge divine powers in them and to call upon them. When such people see the terrifying scenes of the Day of Judgment and the outcome of shirk, they will outright deny and say, “When did we ever tell you to worship us?” And this will be extremely unpleasant for the worshippers. Thus, they too will become enemies of one another.

The Reality of the Hearing of the Dead:

Here, another issue arises: do the deceased hear the calls of the people of the world or not? This is commonly referred to as the issue of the hearing of the dead (sama‘-e-mawta). So, in this verse, there is a complete negation of this: that even until the Day of Judgment, they cannot hear the calls of the people of the world. However, from some verses, it is also understood that Allah can make whomever He wills hear. Also, from authentic hadiths, it is established that the greetings (salam) of the Ummah are conveyed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through angels. And it is also explicitly mentioned in the Quran that after death, the souls of the righteous are in ‘Illiyyin and the souls of the wicked are in Sijjin. And there, they cannot directly and without intermediary hear any voice from the people of the world, because that realm is also different.

Allah’s Principle Regarding Making the Deceased Hear:

Now, regarding making them hear, Allah’s principle is that only such news is conveyed to the righteous that increases their comfort, such as the greetings of the Ummah being conveyed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, or the prayers of righteous children being conveyed to their parents. No such news is conveyed to them that would cause them distress. And no comforting news is conveyed to the wicked; only such news is conveyed to them that becomes even more tormenting for them. As the Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed the slain disbelievers thrown into the well at Badr as a form of rebuke and reprimand, and Allah conveyed that speech to them. And in response to the Companions’ inquiry, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied that they are not hearing any less than you. [مزيد تفصيل كے ليے ديكهئے ميري تصنيف روح، عذاب قبر اور سماع موتي]