And when He, the Exalted, informed that those who followed the light of the truth, glorified and exalted is He, reached - from His rewards due to what the light guided them to of righteous deeds - to realities that are, in essence, the realities, He informed about their opposites, those who followed falsehood, and the steep mountains of it stood between their sight and those lights due to their condition. So He said: ﴿And those who disbelieved﴾ meaning they concealed with what they adhered to of misguidance what spread of the light of Allah. ﴿Their deeds﴾ will be like a mirage on the Day of Judgment. It is what you see at noon in the plains, sticking to the ground, shining as if it were water. And whenever you approach it, it recedes until you reach a mountain or something similar, and it disappears. Al-Razi said in Al-Lawa'ih: The mirage is a ray that becomes clear and flows like water in imagination. Ibn Kathir said: It is seen from a distance as if it were a vast sea, and it only occurs after noon, while the mirage is seen at the beginning of the day, appearing as if it were water between the sky and the earth - this has ended. Al-Baghawi said: The mirage is what rises above the ground, and it is a ray seen between the sky and the earth in the mornings, resembling a filled vessel. In it, the small is seen as large, the short as tall, and the shimmering occurs in the evenings, which is what shimmers from the mirage, meaning it comes and goes.

﴿With a plain﴾ is the plural of qāʿ, which is a flat, tranquil land that has been opened up by mountains and hills - this is what is said in Al-Qamus. Abu Abdullah Al-Qazzaz said in his Diwan: The qīʿah and the qāʿ are one, and they are the flat, smooth land in which soil is piled. Al-Farrah said: The qīʿah is the plural of qāʿ like jār and jīrah. Al-Saghani said in Majmaʿ Al-Bahrayn: The qāʿ is the flat land, and its plural is aqwāʿ and qiqāʿ. The waw has become a ya due to the kasrah of what precedes it. The qīʿah is like qāʿ, and it is also from the waw. Some of them say it is a plural; Ibn Jarir said: The qāʿ is what has spread out from the land and expanded, and in it, the mirage occurs. Abdul Ghafir Al-Farisi said in Majmaʿ Al-Ghara'ib: Al-Farrah said: The qāʿ is a water pool, and the qāʿ is a wide flat place on the ground where rain falls and collects, and its plural is qīʿah and qiqān.

﴿The thirsty one thinks it﴾ meaning the extremely thirsty person, due to weakness of mind, ﴿is water﴾, so he aims for it and keeps moving ﴿until when he comes to it﴾ meaning he arrives at the place he imagined it to be ﴿he finds it nothing﴾ of things. Thus, his aim does not benefit him except for an increase in thirst with an increase in fatigue and distance from places of hope. So his strength intensifies, and his means are cut off, leading to his destruction. (p-285) And likewise, the disbeliever thinks his deeds will benefit him in some way, but they have destroyed him.

And when Allah is encompassing in His knowledge and power over every place, He said: ﴿And he found Allah﴾ meaning the power of the One who encompasses everything ﴿with him﴾ meaning at that place which he intended when he imagined good in it, but his expectation failed him. ﴿So He paid him his account﴾ meaning the recompense of his deeds according to what his actions necessitate by the ruling of justice. This ignorant one did not find this disappointment and anguish enough, that he did not find what he intended to be something like other than it from the mirage, until he found with him the guardians dragging him to a fire, from which the captive is not freed, and its blaze is not extinguished.

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, does not need a scribe, nor is there confusion upon Him, nor is it difficult for Him to keep track of anything, even if it is abundant, nor can anyone delay what He intends by any means, He expressed that by saying: ﴿And Allah﴾ meaning the One who has complete power and comprehensive knowledge ﴿is swift in account﴾ meaning because He does not need to preserve it in a heart, nor to bind it with fingers, nor anything other than that. But He is knowledgeable of all of it before the servant does it and after his doing it; nothing escapes Him from it or from others.