So they said, denying what had come to them from Allah with the utmost denial: "Is he a human being?" This is a denial of the message of this type, so the denial of prophethood is a denial of the prophethood of their prophet in the most eloquent ways. They made the denial greater by their saying, presenting the lack of exclusivity from them due to his specificity: "From us," meaning: there is no virtue for him over us, so what is the reason for his being singled out for that among us? They further emphasized this by saying: "One," meaning: there is no one with him to support him. Then he explained the reason for their words: 'a human being' by saying: "We will follow him," meaning: we will struggle against ourselves in shedding our accustomed ways and opposing our forefathers, and acknowledging our own foolishness and deep-rooted ignorance, while we are the strongest of people in number, strength, understanding, and knowledge. Then they inferred from this severe denial their saying, affirming the feeling that their words deserve to be denied: "Indeed, if we follow him, we will certainly be in misguidance," meaning: going away from the truth that surrounds us. "And a fire," meaning: our consequence in that misguidance will be to be in the beginnings of a matter whose outcome we do not know, for it has not been tried, nor tested, nor has anyone before us experienced it, which would lead us to madness, hunger, and fire, as is the case for those who come to it in the wilderness in various types of heat, with the intensity of the heat of the mountains, and the heat of misguidance, and the heat of worries and ailments - and that is from the fire which we have been warned about. This is the meaning of the interpretation of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, regarding it being punishment. Sufyan ibn Uyaynah made it a collection of Sa'ir, and the meaning is: if we follow you as you say, we will be combining between misguidance and punishment in all its forms.