Study 5: Verse 17:71

"(Remember) The Day when We will summon all (groups of) people with their Imam. And whoever is given his book in his right hand, these shall read their book and they shall not be dealt with a whit unjustly"

1. Which day does the clause "The Day" refers to?
2. What is the connotation of the sentence "summon all people"?
3. What is the meaning of the word "Imam" in this verse?
4. What was the purpose of mentioning "whosever is given the book in his right hand"?

Ibn Kathir

Actual Text from 'Abridged' English volume 6, pages 53-56:

Allah says: "The day when We shall summon all men with their Imam"

Allah tells us that on the Day of Resurrection, he will call each people to account by its Imam. The scholars differed as to the meaning of this (i.e. Imam). Mujahid and Qatadah said that it meant each nation would be called to account by its Prophet. Some of the Salafis said this is the greatest honor for the people of hadith, because their leader is the Prophet. Ibn Zayd said it means they would be called to account by their Book, which was revealed, to their Prophet with its laws. This was also the view favored by Ibn Jarir.

Ibn Abi Najih narrated that Mujahid said, "With their Books''. It may be that what is meant here is what Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas concerning this verse,

“(And remember) the Day when We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imam”, which is that it refers to the Book (or record) of their deeds. This was also the view of Abu Al-`Aliyah, Al-Hasan and Ad-Dahhak. This view is the most correct, because Allah says:

“…and all things We have recorded with numbers (as a record) in a Clear Book [Fi Imamin Mubin] (36:12)

“And the Book (one's record) will be placed, and you will see the criminals, fearful of that which is (recorded) therein (18:49)

“And you will see each nation humbled to their knees, each nation will be called to its record (of deeds). This Day you shall be recompensed for what you used to do. This Our record speaks about you with truth. Verily, We were recording what you used to do." (45:28-29)

This does not contradict the fact that the Prophet will be brought forward when Allah judges between his Ummah, for he will inevitably be a witness against his Ummah over their deeds. But what is meant here by Imam is the Book of deeds. Allah says:

“(And remember) the Day when We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imam. So whosoever is given his record in his right hand, such will read their records..” means, because of their happiness and joy at what is recorded therein of good deeds - they will read it and want to read it. As Allah says:

“Then as for him who will be given his record in his right hand will say: "Here! read my record! until Allah says: “But as for him who will be given his record in his left hand, will say: "Ah! Would that my Record had not been given to me! (69:19-29)

Allah says: "…and they will not be dealt with unjustly in the least (Fatilan)"

We have already mentioned that “fatil” is the long thread in the groove of a date-pit. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar recorded a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah according to which the Prophet said, concerning the Ayah, “(And remember) the Day when We shall call together all human beings with their (respective) Imam:

“One of you will be called and will be given his Book in his right hand. He will be in a good physical state, with a white face, and there will be placed on his head a crown of shining pearls. He will go to his companions and they will see him from afar, and will say, "O Allah, let him come to us and bless us with this.'' Then he will come to them and will say to them, "Rejoice, for every man among you will be like this.'' As for the disbeliever, his face will be black and his body will be enlarged. His companions will see him from afar and will say, "We seek refuge in Allah from this, or from the evil of this, O Allah, do not let him come to us.'' "Then he will come to them and they will say, O Allah, humiliate him!'' He will say, "May Allah cast you away, every man among you will be like this”. Then Al-Bazzar said: "This was only reported through this chain."

Allamah Tabataba'I

Translated from the Arabic volume 13:

Qur’an: “The day when We shall summon all (groups of) people with their Imam.”

The day here is Judgment day and the word “Imam” is that which is referred to as a guide. In the Qur’an, Allah has used the word Imam:

1) To refer to individuals, who guide people by His command as He says: “He said: Lo! I have appointed thee an Imam for mankind” (2:124), and, also, He says: “And We made them Imams who guide by Our command.” (21:73)

2) To call other individuals who are followed in leading astray as He says: “…then fight the Imams of disbelief.” (9:12)

3) To refer to the Torah as He says: “When before it there was the Scripture of Moses, an Imam and a mercy.” (11:17) What we can learn from this verse is that the heavenly Books that contains the shariah like the book of Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, and Mohamed (peace be upon all of them) are also regarded as Imams.

4) To refer to the Guarded Tablet as He says: “...and all things We have kept in a clear Imam” (36:12).

From the literal appearance of the verse 17:71 we can understand that each group of people will have an Imam different from other groups. Since the Guarded Tablet is one, and not specialized to one group or the other, the word Imam in this verse cannot refer to the Guarded Tablet.

The verse also indicates that the “summoning” is inclusive for all people from men of old to later generations. And it has been previously mentioned in the exegesis of the verse “Mankind were one community, and Allah sent (unto them) prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture.” (2:213), that the first Heavenly Book that included a shariah was the book of Nuh (a.s.) and there was no other book before it. Therefore, the word “Imam” in verse 17:71 cannot refer to the Heavenly Books because whoever came before Nuh (a.s.) will not be included in the inclusive call of the verse.

Thus, “the Imam of all men,” (in the sentence “summon all people with their Imam”) means the one who is followed for either guidance or misguidance. As previously mentioned, the Qur’an calls both of them “Imams”, or sometimes explicitly refers to the Rightful Imam. The Rightful Imam is chosen by Allah in every period to guide people by His command. He can either be a prophet, like Ibrahim (a.s.) and Mohammed (s.a.w.a.), or a non-prophet. A detailed explanation has been previously mentioned in the exegesis of verse 2:124.

We can also learn from Allah’s saying about the Pharaoh, who was an “Imam” who led people astray: “He will go before his people on the Day of Resurrection and will lead them to the Fire for watering-place” (11:98). Allah also says: “That Allah may separate the wicked from the good, The wicked will He place piece upon piece, and heap them all together, and consign them unto hell” (8:37), and other verses, which are numerous - that people who were led astray (misguided) will not be separate from their respective leaders (Imams) on the Judgment day and therefore, they will follow them during the Resurrection and summoning.

The word “imamihim” (their Imam) is general and it has not been specified to refer to the Imam of truth, whom Allah has chosen to guide by His command. We have seen that the one who leads people astray is also called an Imam (like the Pharaoh), so does the one (the Imam) who guides people to the right path. It can be inferred from the two verses quoted above, that the Imam, who people are summoned with, is also the one whom people take as a leader and follow in this life and not necessarily the one whom Allah has chosen to be an Imam to guide by His command, whether people follow him, or not.

It is now evident that the meaning of “Imam of all men” in the verse: “summon all men with their Imam” is the one who is followed, regardless whether he is the Imam of truth (guidance) or the Imam of error (misguidance). Also, the verse does not mean, as some people think and have said, that people will be called by the names of their Imams (leaders), like saying “O people of Ibrahim, and O people of Mohamed, and O people of Pharaoh, and O people of such and such Imam”. Such an interpretation is not suitable as a further branching from the clause “whoever is given his book in his right hand” and the verse “Whoever is blind here…” and therefore it is rejected. In other words, there is no relationship between the summoning by the name of the Imam and giving the book with the right hand, and blindness.

The meaning of “da’wa” is summoning (with someone). This meaning is qualified from the clause “whoever is given the book in the right hand”. In other words, the people will be summoned with their respective Imam whom they followed in this life and then the person who had been guided by the Rightful Imam will take the book in his right hand, and those who were blind in not knowing the Rightful Imam of their time will also be blind in the hereafter. This is what a scrupulous look at the verse would reveal.

The exegetes have expressed different opinions in explaining the meaning of the word ‘Imam’ in the verse:

First Interpretation: An Imam is the Heavenly Book that is followed, like the Torah, Injil, and Qur’an; and that on the Judgment Day, the people of the Torah will be summoned, the people of the Injil will be summoned and the people of the Qur’an will be summoned.

Comment: We have already mentioned the reply to this claim above.

Second Interpretation: For those on the path of truth, their Imam is a prophet, and for those on the path of misguidance, their Imam is shaytan. And it would be said on that Day: “bring forth the followers of Ibrahim, bring forth the followers of Musa, bring forth the followers of Mohamed, and, the truthful people who followed them would rise and would be given their book of deeds in their right hand. Then, it would be said: “bring forth the followers of shaytan, bring forth the followers of the leaders of disbelief.”

Comment: This interpretation was derived based on the commonly used meaning of the word “Imam” i.e. one amongst the wise and sane who is being followed. Such a meaning is not applicable because the Qur’an has used the word “Imam” specifically to mean one who guides by Allah’s command or one who leads people astray (inviting people to fire).

Third interpretation: The Imam is the Book of Deeds, and it would be said on that Day: O people of the book of good deeds, O people of the book of bad deeds. The reason they are called Imams is because people will follow the books’ judgment, either to heaven or hell.

Comment: There is no reason to call the Book of Deeds an Imam (guide), when actually the Book follows (records) the deeds of people, good or bad. In that case, it would be more appropriate to call it a “follower” rather than a “guide”. In addition, what was said that people will follow “the books’ judgment” is incorrect, because the book only shows the deeds (good or bad) of people and not the judgment. Allah will decide the judgment after bringing forth the recordings, questioning, weighting and witnessing.

Therefore, it is apparent that neither the Guarded tablet nor the Book of Deeds, which Allah has also referred to in His words: “each nation (will be) summoned to its record” (45:28) can mean the Imam because this meaning is not qualified from the phrase “whoever is given his book in his right hand” which implies individuals and not a group.

Fourth interpretation: The Imam means “mothers” and this meaning is derived by making the word Imam as plural of the word um (= mother), and every man will be called as the son of his mother’s name. A tradition has been narrated in this respect.

Comment: This explanation does not go with the wording of the verse because it says “We shall summon ALL men (in groups) with their Imam” and the verse does not say ‘We shall summon men with their Imams (mothers)’, or call ‘each man by his mother’s name’. If this interpretation were correct, then one of the two expressions would have been used. Moreover, this interpretation of the verse comes from an independent narration that was not mentioned in the exegesis.

Further, the use of Imam (mothers) as the plural of um (mother) is rare in Arabic language and therefore it cannot be assumed to be Allah’s word. Al-Kashaf has included this interpretation as one of the innovations in tafseer (exegesis).

Fifth Interpretation: The Imam means the one who guides and the person who is being followed whether he is sane or insane, a person who is truthful or untruthful, a person like a prophet, a waliyy (guardian) who is in charge of the affairs of the people, shaytan, leaders of misguidance, truthful and false religions, heavenly books and corrupted books. And may be the summoning of people in this respect is an allegorical expression to mean that on Judgment Day each person will not be separate from the one whom the person followed for guidance.

Comment: Going with the literal meaning is acceptable if the Qur’an had no explanation and understanding for the word “Imam”. However, an “Imam” in the Qur’anic language (and usage) is the one who guides by Allah’s command, or the one who is followed in leading astray. The connotation is probably in the prefix letter “be” in “beimamihim”

The guidance of the Heavenly Book, traditions, religion, etc, actually falls on the shoulder of the Imam. So is the case with the Prophet – he guides because he is an Imam who guides by Allah’s command. And when he prophesies the unseen, or conveys the message and promulgates it, he acts as a prophet or a messenger, but not an Imam. The same is the misguidance of the false sects and scriptures, innovated traditions, etc which is really due to their founders and innovators.

Qur’an: “Whoever is given his book in his right hand, these will read their book and they shall not be dealt with a whit unjustly”

“al-fatil” (= shred) is what you find in a torn seed. It is also said that “al-fatil” is what is in a seed (like a date seed) and “al-naqir” is what is in its back and “al-qatmir” is what is in its crack.

The division into two groups is as a result of the kind of Imam they followed. The two groups are: “whoever is given his book in his right hand” and “whoever is blind and farther from the (right) way” Therefore, there are two kinds of Imams: an Imam of guidance and an Imam of misguidance. This understanding (branching from the two sentences) shows that the word “Imam” is not only limited to an Imam of guidance, but is more general. This is also proved by substituting the clause “giving the book in the left hand” or “giving it from behind the back” as mentioned in other places, with the clause “whoever is blind in this will be blind in the Hereafter, and yet farther from the way” in the verse 17:72. Therefore, the (correct) meaning is that the people will be divided into two groups. As for those who will be given the book of deeds in their right hand, they would read it expecting to receive God’s Mercy and such would not be wronged or dealt a whit unjustly and they will be given their reward in full (as promised by Allah).

Al-QURTUBI

Translated from Arabic:

Qur’an: "The day when We shall summon all men with their Imam"

Al-Tirmidhy has narrated from the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet said about the verse On the day when We shall summon all men with their Imam: “One of them will be called and will be given his book (of deeds) in his right hand, and his body will extend 60 cubes, and his face will be whitened and a crown of shining pearls will be placed on his head. He would then run to his companions and they would see him from a far distance, and they would say: ‘O Allah, bring him to us, and make him a blessing for us’; until he would come to them and say: ‘Have glad tidings, each one of you will have the same as this’. As for the kafir (disbeliever), his face will be darkened and his body will extend by 60 cubes like the image of Adam, and a crown will be placed on his head. He would then run to his companions and they would see him from a far distance, and they would say: ‘We seek Allah’s refuge from him, O Allah don’t bring him to us, O Allah delay his arrival’ until he would come to them and say: ‘May Allah distant all of you, each one of you will have the same as this.’”

Abu ‘Isa said that this (the above) is a strange but acceptable hadith. And the opposite of this is the verse: And thou wilt see each nation crouching, each nation summoned to its record. (And it will be said unto them): "This day ye are requited what ye used to do. And the book can be called Imam because they will refer to it in order to know their deeds".

Ibn Abbas, Al-Hassan, Qatada, and Al-Thahhak said: “with their Imam” means their book, i.e. the book of all humans with their deeds. The proof of this meaning is the sentence whoso is given his book in his right hand. Ibn Zaid said: (Imam means) “by the book revealed to them” That is, each person will be called by the name of the book that he recited. So those who recited the Torah will be called as “people of the Torah” and those who recited the Qur’an will be called as “people of the Qur’an”. It will be said, “ O people of the Qur’an, how did you act? Did you follow the commands of Allah? Did you leave that which He forbade you? And so on.

Mujahid said: “with their Imam” means with their Prophet; and the Imam is the one who is followed. It will be said, “Bring forth the followers of Ibrahim, bring forth the followers of Musa, bring forth the followers of Shaytan, bring forth the followers of disbelief (idols). So the people of the truth would rise and take their books with their right hands, and the people of falsehood would rise and would take their books with their left hands.” Qatada has said the same thing.

Ali (RA) said: “their Imam” means “with the Imam of their time”. And he narrated from the Prophet about the verse: On the day we shall summon all men with their Imam, he said: “everyone will be called by the Imam of their time and the book of their Lord and the sunnah (tradition) of their prophet. It would be called out: “bring forth the followers of Ibrahim, bring forth the followers of Musa, bring forth the followers of ‘Isa, bring forth the followers of Muhammed (pbuh), so the people of the truth would rise and would take their book with their right hands, and it would also be called out: ‘bring forth the followers of Shaytan, bring forth the followers of disbelief (those who misguided), the Imam of guidance and the Imam of error.”

Al Hassan abu Aliah said: “their Imam” means their deeds. Ibn Abbas said the same thing that it would be said: “where are the ones pleased with their destiny, where are the patient ones.” It was also said that it means: “by their sects” so they would be called by the ones they followed during their life: “O Hanafi, O Shafi’, O Muta’zili, O Qadari, and so on.” So they (the people) would accompany them in good or bad or on truth or error, and this is also the meaning of what Abu Obaida said.

Abu Hurayra said: “The people of charity will be called from the door of charity, and the people of jihad will be called from the door of jihad…” Abu Sahl said: “it would be said: where is the one who prayed and fasted and his opposite…”

Mohamed bin Ka’ab said: “with their Imam” means with their mothers, and Imam is the plural of um (mother.) The wise said: “and in that there are 3 faces. The first is for ‘Isa, the second is to show the honor of Hassan and Hussain, and the third so that the children of adulterers would not be known.” I (Qurtuby) say: this view (of Mohamed bin Ka’ab) needs to be reviewed because in the authentic hadith narrated by Ibn Omar, the prophet said: “When Allah gathers those of old and those of later times on the day of Judgment, each mischief maker will have a flag, and it would be said: “this is the mischief of such a man son of this man.” This proves that people on judgment day would be called by their names and the names of their fathers. This negates whoever said that they would be called by the names of their mothers, because if so, it would create a veil on their fathers. And Allah knows better.

Qur’an: "Whoso is given his book in his right hand, these will read their book and they shall not be dealt with a whit unjustly"

This strengthens the argument of those who said “by their Imam” meaning by their book, and it is also strengthened by the verse “…and all things We have kept in a clear Book” (36:12).

Our Conclusions:

Ibn Kathir, begins his exegesis by citing the different interpretations of the word “Imam” used in the verse. He says that the view of Ibn Abbas (and a few others) that the word “Imam” in this verse means the Book of deeds is the most correct and he quotes verses 36:12, 18:49 and 45:28-29 to support his comment. In these verses, except verse 36:12, Allah has used the word “kitaab” for the book of deeds and the word “Imamin Mubin” (clear Book) in the exception. Although some exegetes have supported this same view by using the clause “whoever is given the book in his right hand”, we find no relationship between summoning someone with the Book of deeds and giving the Book of deeds in the right hand. Far be it for the Qur’an to imply such meanings without proper branching from the various clauses of a verse or group of verses.

We have mentioned while commenting on Qurtubi’s tafseer that the word “Imam” in the verse under study cannot mean the book of deeds and we gave the reasons for that. So the view of Ibn Abbas goes straight out of the window. After studying the tafseer work of Tabataba’I, we find that the failure to understand the clause “summon every people with their Imam” has led such exegetes to concur that the Imam in this verse means the book of deeds or one of the heavenly scriptures.

Ibn Kathir has not quoted the verse or verses showing that Allah has also used the word Imam to refer to those individuals who were followed in misguidance. Allah says:  “…then fight the Imams of disbelief” (9:12). Such a verse cannot be ignored in understanding the import of the word "Imam" in the verse under study.

Ibn Kathir brings the issue of calling of witnesses on Judgment Day in his tafseer. There is no doubt, based on some Qur’anic verses, that the prophets will be called as witnesses against their people on the Day of Judgment. This witnessing is in relation to the deeds committed by people and the final Judgment so that people will have no excuses. But the verse is talking about the Day of Judgment when Allah will summon all groups of men with their respective Imams whom they followed in this life for guidance or misguidance before the calling of witnesses and Judgment.  

In conclusion, we find a slight variation in the style of Kathir's exegesis of this verse in comparison with the previous studies. Kathir makes an attempt to prove one of his comments by quoting some important verses. These verses, based on Tabataba'I's tafseer, actually explain a meaning that could be used to contradict Kathir's assertion. Finally,  Ibn Kathir has not given us a comprehensive understanding of the verse and this is in sharp contrast with the understanding offered by Tabatabai in his systematic approach to the exegesis of this verse.

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Allamah Tabataba'I approaches the exegesis of this verse in a logical and orderly manner. He first gives us examples of verses from the Qur’an in which the word “Imam” has been used by Allah to refer to individuals, heavenly books or the book of deeds. He then quotes the different opinions of exegetes and some tafseer work about the meaning and usage of the word “Imam” in the verse under study and the most common view we find is that the word “Imam” refers to the book of deeds. The exegetes resort to verse 36:12 in which Allah says: “...and all things We have kept in a clear Imam (book of records)” and the clause "whoever is given the book in his right hand" to prove their claim. This claim is easily refuted by the arguments presented by Tabataba’I.

We have also seen from Tabataba’I’s tafseer that the sentence “summon all (groups of) people with their Imam” has a connotation of bringing forth each group of people with their respective Imam to receive the book of deeds and not merely calling the people by the names of their Imams as some exegetes have opined. Tabataba’i’s explanation in this respect is in order and perfect relationship with the connotation of the clause “whoever is given the book in his right hand”.

Based on the reasons and arguments presented by Tabataba’I, we have to agree that the word “Imam” in the verse under study has been used by the Qur’an to refer to individuals who guide people to truth by Allah’s command or those who invite people to fire by leading astray. This understanding is also derived from the fact that the clause “their Imam” in the sentence “summon all people with their Imam” is general and not particular.

Moreover, Tabataba’I’s tafseer is unprecedented in the sense that he reveals a deeper understanding of the verse. What was the purpose of mentioning the clause “whoever is given the book (of deeds) in his right hand”? In short, this clause and the next verse “whoever is blind in this will be blind in the hereafter…” are the source and means to derive the following facts:

1) The people and their respective Imams will be inseparable on the Day of Reckoning.

2) The people of the right hand are those who followed an Imam appointed by Allah to guide by His command and hence they were guided to the truth and Allah will not deal with them a whit unjustly.

3) The people of the left hand are those who followed an Imam other than the one appointed by Allah and hence they were led astray and they shall come out blind on the Day of Reckoning.

Another interesting point that Tabataba’I mentions is that the book of deeds will only reveal the good or bad deeds of the people and it will not contain the final Judgment as suggested in some tafseer work of other exegetes. This means that even after giving and receiving the book of deeds in the right hand or left hand, Judgment will still be pending. In other words, the verse, with all its concomitants and connotations, is talking about those people who would expect to receive and see Allah’s extra Mercy because of their good deeds resulting from obeying and following a rightful Imam and such people would not be dealt a whit unjustly.

Finally, Tabataba’I’s tafseer has helped us understand a very important fact - that in this life, one has to recognize and follow a rightful Imam of his time in order to be included among the “people of the right hand” on the Day of Reckoning. And the rightful Imam is none other than the one who is appointed by Allah at all times to manage the affairs of the people; he is also the one who guides people by the command of Allah; his wilayah springs from the root of Allah’s wilayah. This is one of the intrinsic qualities of a rightful Imam as evident in the following Qur’anic verses: “And We made them Imams who guide by Our command.” (21:73) and "Most surely your waliyy is Allah and the Messenger, and those who believe…” (5:55)

Poser: Accepted that one has to follow a rightful Imam of his time. Who is the present Imam of our time and how do we know that he is the rightful Imam and receive his guidance?

Reply: The Qur’an will reveal that “Imamah” is a divinely appointed status and that the earth cannot remain without a rightful Imam so long as there is a man on it. Moreover, history and numerous traditions will reveal that the Imam of our time is the 12th Imam (peace be upon him) from the household of our last Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a). If one negates this particular aspect in the history of Islam or the traditions, then one has to negate the Qur’anic understandings about Imamah and this is not possible. The present Imam is in major occultation by the will of Allah and due to certain prevailing conditions. This condition and situation with the Imam is as a result of the very actions of the people. Whenever Allah sent a guide to the people, they consistently belied every guide, they fought him and they sometimes even killed him and therefore the people were not able to benefit from him. Would we then say that Allah did not send a guide? Look at the talk of these very same people on the Day of Judgment: They shall say: Yea! Indeed there came to us a warner, but we rejected (him)… (67:9). The occultation of the Imam helps us to appreciate the true value of an Imam and puts us into a trial as to whether or not our actions reflect upon his guardianship. However, if one accepts and recognizes the 12th Imam as the present waliyy of Allah and seeks guidance to the truth, the Imam can still respond in inexplicable ways by the permission of Allah.

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Al-Qurtubi, gives us the various views of some exegetes and companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the sentence “summon all people with their Imam” but unlike Tabataba’I he does not show whether these interpretations are conforming to or rejected by the verse itself. The only exception is the attempt he makes in rejecting the view of Mohamed bin Ka’ab that the word “Imam” in the verse means, “mothers”. Qurtubi refers to a tradition of the Prophet (and not the Qur'an) narrated by Ibn Omar in refuting this claim by Ka’ab.

It is evident that Qurtubi’s tafseer of this verse has a lot in common with the style and method used by Ibn Kathir. All the views mentioned in his tafseer about the word “Imam” in the verse under study, with the exception of one, are rejected by the context of the verse and clearly refuted by the arguments seen in the tafseer work of Allamah Tabataba’I. For example, the view of Mujahid that "their Imam" in the verse specifically means "their Prophet" is rejected because first,  Allah has also used the word "Imam" in the Qur'an to refer to those who are followed in misguidance and second,  if the clause "their Imam" specifically meant "their prophet", then it would imply that the people of the left hand would not be summoned with an Imam. Further, the view that the word "Imam" means the book of deeds is refutable because, first, the clause "kulla onasin" gives the meaning of "every group of men" and the verse does not say Kulla nas (all men)  and second, the book of deeds is a single book and therefore, not the exclusive book of a particular group only.  It is also not appropriate to say that a person will be summoned with his book and then given the same book in his hand.  However, the view of  ‘Ali (supposedly Ali Ibn Abi-Talib), as mentioned by Qurtubi, that the clause “their Imam” means the Imam of their time (either rightful or false) is more reasonable and appropriate because the clause "their Imam" in the verse is general and not specific.

It also appears that Qurtubi was more concerned to prove that people on the Day of Judgment will be called by their fathers' name and not their mothers' name, as suggested by others,  rather than showing through exegesis the intended meaning of the clause “summon all (groups of) people with their Imam”. As a matter of fact, the tradition he quotes of the Prophet, in which it is mentioned that Allah will gather men from the old and later generations, actually disproves a previously quoted view of Qatadah and others that the word “Imam” means one of the  “heavenly scriptures”. Tabatabai explains this aspect in his tafseer.

In short, Qurtubi has quoted the views of different scholars on the verse and by not commenting on almost all of them, he has not fulfilled the duties of an exegete. One finds it very hard to accept these views because they are inconsistent and they have not been examined in the light of the Qur'an.   In comparison, Tabataba’I has presented unstinted views of other exegetes on the verse and has commented on each of these views with the guidance of the Qur'an and thereby arriving at the acceptable and reasonable understanding through the style of his exegesis.