And those who followed said, and they are the followers, wishing for the impossible, regretting their following of those who do not benefit, where regret does not benefit. "If only we had another chance," meaning a return to the world. Al-Harali said: It is a return and coming back at the end of a period of time. It has ended. And since "if only" means wishing, its response is in the accusative case, and he said, "So we would disown them," meaning the leaders there, and we would humiliate them, "as they disowned us," and they humiliated us here. Al-Harali said: In it is news of their regret for following those beneath their Lord from those who were followed, and it is a manifestation of their regret in a way that is imagined but not realized, in accordance with how their clinging to them was an imagined benefit that was not realized. Thus, it confirms their state in the Hereafter based on what they used to receive in the world from following the illusion and being absent from the known. It has ended.

And when these things are some of the fruits of their deeds and some of the narratives of their words, Allah, the Most High, said: As a way of beginning a response to those who say: They have seen the recompense of their beliefs, so will they see the recompense of the deeds of their limbs? ﴿So﴾ that is: the terrifying and dreadful matter ﴿Allah shows them﴾ He who has complete power and perfect greatness ﴿their deeds﴾ the evil ones and others ﴿regrets upon them﴾ that is: longing for what has passed, releasing the cause upon the effect. He indicated with the tool of elevation to their dominance and the severity of their humiliation, so He said: ﴿upon them﴾. And Al-Harali said: When their beliefs are regrets for them, He showed them their deeds which they performed in seeking good in this world as regrets ﴿And We brought forth what they did of deeds and made it scattered dust﴾ [Al-Furqan: 23] just as the deeds of one whose heart is in love and devoted to what is below Allah. And there is an indication that the deeds of every doer are returned to what his heart is assured of, and to which his soul is settled, and to which his fear and hope are attached. So whoever is overcome by something in his secret, then he is his lord to whom his deeds are directed. He will not find with Him a recompense for his disavowal of it, and it will become a regret for him. So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, informed that they will not be aided in the Hereafter nor recompensed for their deeds. Thus, their deification of them did not benefit them, and the one followed among them is a deity to himself, and he did not find with it a recompense for his deeds. So each of them regretted what he did of good deeds for its nullification ﴿And indeed, it has been revealed to you and to those before you: If you associate others with Allah, your work will surely become worthless﴾ [Az-Zumar: 65]. And regret is the most intense sorrow for what has passed, which cuts off the one who longs for it from what he has regretted. It has ended. And they will enter the Fire with their deeds ﴿And they are not﴾ that is: by their failing to exit from it, rather they are, even if they exit from the blazing Fire to the freezing cold, they will return to it ﴿exiting from the Fire﴾ one day of days and not an hour of hours, rather they are eternal in it for long ages and the passage of epochs, unlike the sinners among the believers, for when they exit from it, they will not return to it. Al-Harali said: And there is an indication of their intention to flee from it and to exit, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: ﴿Whenever they intend to go out from it, they are returned to it﴾ [As-Sajda: 20]. So Allah, the Most High, informed that their direction for exiting does not benefit them, and there remains for them no favor that would lift them from it until the cutting off of their hope from the favor of their own selves is organized by cutting off their hope from those whom they have clung to among their partners. And it was not ﴿And they are not from it, by any means, to be exited﴾ [Al-Hijr: 48] as He said about the people of Paradise to indicate that despair and severance are occurring from them upon themselves. Just as it was in the valley of their deeds in this world from their own selves, the news of its recompense has run according to that in meaning, as He said: The deeds of the people of Paradise with them are from the guidance of their Lord, the mention of their recompense has run according to that in meaning based on what the difference of the two forms necessitates. It has ended.

And perhaps the verse is referring to His saying at the beginning of the surah: "And among the people are some who say, 'We have believed in Allah and the Last Day,' but they are not believers" [Al-Baqarah: 8]. This means that just as there are hypocrites and open disbelievers among the People of the Book, so too are there among the Arabs. Thus, His saying: "Indeed, those who disbelieve, it is all the same for them" [Al-Baqarah: 6] encompasses the four categories. Then He followed that by mentioning the hypocrites among the Arabs, then the hypocrites and the opposers among the People of the Book, and then the open disbelievers among the Arabs. Thus, the category of the Arabs is twofold, corresponding to the two categories of the People of the Book, indicating that they are the ones specifically intended and that most of them will believe and will overpower the People of the Book and will kill them like dogs.