And when he described the Book and mentioned those who benefit from it, the soul longed to ask about the state of those who do not believe in it, namely the deniers. He said, indicating that their state in their refraining from following it after knowing its truthfulness is due to their inability to attain it, is like the state of one who waits for the fulfillment of a threat: "Are they waiting?" That is, they are waiting. However, since they had no intention in that other than what the state indicates, he stripped the action to convey that it is by the realization of its coming in utmost proximity, as if it were visible to them: "Except for its interpretation," that is, the turning of what is in it of promise and threat to its locations and the consequences of its matter, which he informed that it will come to pass.

And when it was as if it were said: What will be their state then? He said: Regret and submission where it will not benefit, and belief and faith when it will not be accepted. He expressed that by saying: "The Day when its interpretation comes," that is, the reaching of its threat to its extent in this world or in the Hereafter. And when he presented the Day, giving it importance, he followed it with the action in it, saying: "Those who forgot it will say," that is, they left it like the forgotten one. It may be that he counted that as forgetting because it is ingrained in their nature that every king must have a presentation of his soldiers and hold them accountable. So when they turned away from that which is from the side of Allah, he counted it as forgetting on their part for what is ingrained in their nature.

And since their forgetting was at some time in the past, he included the preposition, saying: "Before," that is, before the unveiling of the veil, confirming the belief: "Indeed, messengers from our Lord have come," that is, the one who has done good to us, "with the truth," that is, corresponding to this reality that we see from what they used to threaten us with. They did not speak the truth until they saw. So they did not believe in the unseen nor did they establish faith in the abode of action, therefore it did not benefit them.

And when they described Him - glorified and exalted is He - with kindness for what the state revealed about His forbearance and long patience, they caused their saying: "So do we have any intercessors?" that is, on this Day, as if they gathered the intercessors for their inclusion among the people in the great intercession for the judgment. Then they caused the realization of their being for them, that is, specifically, saying: "So let them intercede for us," that is, whether they are from our partners whom we used to think would benefit us or from others, so that He may forgive us for what we have committed of crimes. "Or we be returned," that is, if He does not forgive us to the world which is the abode of action, and the meaning is that there is no way for us to salvation except by one of these two causes. Then they caused their response to this second inquiry by saying: "So we may act," that is, in this world, "other than what we used to," that is, with our natures without rational consideration.

And when it was known to those who believed in the Qur'an and understood the locations of what is in it of news that they would have nothing of that, its result was his saying: ﴿Certainly, they have lost themselves﴾ meaning: no one is more lost than them. ﴿And they have gone astray﴾ meaning: they have become absent and invalidated ﴿from them what they used to have﴾ meaning: by nature and disposition, they cannot return from it except upon witnessing the punishment. ﴿They fabricate﴾ meaning: they deliberately lie in this world regarding Him for the purpose of stubbornness against the messengers, by claiming that the idols intercede for them and other than that from their lies.