Commentary
So He replaced those who wronged with His saying: "from them" so that it would not be assumed that they are among the outsiders in it, "a saying other than that."
And since it is known that the speaker is one who has the obligation upon them, he built it for the unknown and said: "It was said to them." And he said: "So We sent" meaning: with what We have of greatness "upon them" with the implication of severity to indicate the possibility of general punishment with torment "a punishment from the heavens." And the term injustice - in His saying: "because they were wrongdoers" - implies that they do not cease from being in darkness, either absolutely or with the renewal of the action of one who is in it - is more severe than the term wickedness which implies the renewal of exiting from what should be stable in it, just as the term sending, which is qualified by "upon," is likewise in relation to the term sending down.
Explore Other Scholars on This Verse
Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Al-A'raf verse 162