His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And We have certainly sent a messenger in every nation, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid Taghut.' So among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom misguidance was justified. So travel the earth and see how was the end of the deniers.﴾ ﴿And if you should strive for their guidance, indeed Allah does not guide whom He sends astray, and for them are no helpers.﴾ ﴿And they swore by Allah their strongest oaths that Allah would not resurrect the dead. Yes, it is a true promise upon Him, but most of the people do not know.﴾

When His saying: ﴿So is there [any] duty upon the messengers except clear notification?﴾ [An-Nahl: 35] indicated the establishment of the proof as we have mentioned between that in this verse, meaning that He sent the messengers commanding His worship and avoiding the worship of others. And "Taghut" in the language refers to everything worshipped besides Allah, whether it is a willing human or a stone or wood. Then He informed that among them were those who reflected and Allah guided him and looked with insight, and among them were those who turned away and disbelieved, so misguidance was justified upon him, and it certainly leads to the Fire, and among them were those who were led to the punishment of Allah in this world. Then He referred them in knowledge of that to seeking in the earth, and to observing the nations, and to standing upon the consequences of the disbelieving deniers.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And if you strive﴾, the striving is the utmost desire for something. And this is a consolation for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, meaning that your striving will not benefit, for these are predetermined matters. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Ibn Amir, Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, Shaiba, Mujahid, Shibl, Muzahim Al-Khurasani, Abu Raji' Al-Attaridi, and Ibn Sirin read: "will not be guided" with a damma on the ya and a fatha on the dal. And Asim, Hamza, and Al-Kisai read: "does not guide" with a fatha on the ya and a kasra on the dal, and this is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Al-Musayyib, and a group. And that is on two meanings: either that Allah does not guide whom He has decreed to misguide, or the other meaning is that the Arabs say: "A man guides" meaning "he is guided," as reported by Al-Farra'. And in the Quran: ﴿None guides except one who is guided﴾ [Yunus: 35]. And Abu Ali and others made it mean "he is guided." A group read with a fatha on the ya and a kasra on the ha and dal, and a group read: "He guides" with a damma on the ya and a kasra on the dal, and this is weak. And in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "Indeed, Allah does not guide whom He misguides," and Abu Hatim reported it: "Indeed, there is no guide for whom He misguides." Abu Ali said: "The return to the name 'Indeed' is implied in 'He misguides' in every reading except the reading of 'He guides' with a fatha on the ya and a kasra on the dal, meaning: Allah guides, for the return is implied in 'He guides.'" And His saying: ﴿And for them are no helpers﴾ the pronoun refers to the meaning of "from." And the Arabs say: "He strove, he strives" and "He strove, he strives," and the kasra in the future is the language of the people of Hijaz. And Al-Hasan, Ibrahim, and Abu Haywah read with a fatha on the ra in his saying "He strove," and Ibrahim read: "And if you strive" with the addition of the waw.

The pronoun in His saying: "And they swore" refers to the disbelievers of Quraysh. It is mentioned that a man from the Muslims lived near a man from the polytheists. He said in his conversation: "No, by the One I hope for after death." The disbeliever said to him: "Or has he been raised after death?" He said: "Yes." The disbeliever swore earnestly in his oath that Allah does not raise anyone after death. Therefore, the verse was revealed because of that. "Effort" is a source, and its meaning is: with the utmost of their effort. Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, responded to them with His saying: "Indeed." Thus, He made resurrection obligatory. His saying: "A promise upon Him, truly" consists of two confirming sources. Al-Dahhak read: "Indeed, a promise upon Him, truly" with both sources in the nominative case. Most people regarding this verse are the disbelievers who deny resurrection. Resurrection from the graves is something that reason allows, and the news of the Shari'ah has confirmed it through the tongues of all the prophets. Some of the Shia said that the reference in this verse is to Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and that Allah will raise him in this world. This is the saying of the return. Their statement is false and a fabrication against Allah, and a slanderous claim that was refuted by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, and others.