Then he increased in clarifying the generality by the exception; which is its criterion; so he said: ﴿Except for Iblis﴾; he expressed it with this name; due to his being from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-iblās]; which is the cessation of hope; indicating that he was in the first address of Allah to him with denial against him; in a manner from which it is known that the anger against him is eternal; and the punishment for him is inevitable.

And when it was known by the exception that he did not prostrate; and the structure of the Surah was based on the arrogance of the disbelievers; due to their being in pride and opposition; it was clarified that the barrier preventing him from prostration is arrogance; repelling him; restricting the explanation of the dispute against him; and what is connected to it; so he said: ﴿He was arrogant﴾; meaning: he sought to be greater than to be commanded to prostrate to him; and he manifested arrogance against the command of Allah; and he was among the ancient arrogant ones in this description; as you disbelievers were arrogant against our Messenger; and we will elevate our Messenger ﷺ; just as we elevated Adam, our chosen one - peace be upon him -; against whoever was arrogant about prostrating to him; and we will make him a vicegerent of this existence; just as we made Adam - peace be upon him -; and we indicated that in this Surah by beginning it with a vicegerent; and concluding it with a vicegerent; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was commanded to mention each of their states.

And when the past action might imply that there was a description in it that did not exist; and the estimation was: "So he disbelieved by that"; he added to it - clarifying that he was created for disbelief; and nothing occurred from him except the appearance of that to the creation - his saying: ﴿And he was﴾; meaning: by nature and disposition; ﴿of the disbelievers﴾; meaning: deeply rooted in the description of disbelief; which its origin is arrogance against the truth; necessitating humiliation for falsehood; so the verse is from the intertwining: he mentioned the act of arrogance first; as evidence for the act of disbelief second; and the description of disbelief second; as evidence for the description of arrogance first; and the secret of that is that what he mentioned is more effective in warning that whoever has arrogance will be drawn into disbelief.