His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Did you not know that Allah knows what is in the heavens and the earth? Indeed, that is in a Book. Indeed, that is easy for Allah." "And they worship besides Allah that for which He has not sent down any authority, and for them there is no knowledge, and for the wrongdoers there is no helper." "And when Our clear verses are recited to them, you recognize in the faces of those who disbelieve the denial. They are almost assaulting those who recite to them Our verses. Say, 'Shall I inform you of something worse than that? The Fire, which Allah has promised those who disbelieve, and wretched is the destination.'" When Allah, the Most High, informed in the previous verse that He will judge between the people on the Day of Resurrection regarding what they have differed in, He followed that news by stating that He has knowledge of all things so that the judgment may occur in what is known. Thus, the expression came in the manner of analogy regarding Allah's knowledge and His encompassing knowledge, and that all of that is in a Book, which is the Preserved Tablet. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, that is easy for Allah" can be understood as referring to the fact that it is in a Book and that it is known, or it can refer to the judgment regarding the differences. Then He mentioned, in a manner of reproach, the actions of the disbelievers in that they worship idols besides Allah for which Allah has not sent down any proof or evidence, and "authority" refers to proof as it occurs in the Noble Qur'an. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And for the wrongdoers there is no helper" is a threat. The pronoun in "upon them" refers to the disbelievers of Quraysh, meaning that when they heard the Qur'an from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, or from one of his companions, and they heard what was in it of rejection of their deities and the call to monotheism, the disgrace was recognized in their faces. And "the denial" is from their beliefs and enmity, and they plot and rush to assault the reciters. The meaning is that they are almost assaulting their entire time, and in rare moments, they may assault the reciters as was done to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, helped him and resolved the matter, and to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, when Al-As ibn Wa'il protected him, and to Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, and others. And "assault" is an act of aggression or a command for it. Then Allah, the Most High, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to say to them in a manner of warning and reprimand: 'Shall I inform you?' meaning: 'Shall I tell you of something worse than that?' The reference in "that" is to the assault. Then He began to inform them, as if someone asked him: 'What is it?' He said: 'The Fire,' meaning: the Fire of Hell. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Which Allah has promised those who disbelieve" can be understood as meaning that Allah has promised them with the Fire, so the promise is of evil and similar to that which He has stated, and it does not come in general terms. It can also mean that Allah, the Most High, has promised the Fire that it will consume the disbelievers, so the promise is in accordance with what it entails of its eagerness towards the disbelievers and its saying: "Is there any more?" [Q: 30] and similar to that from its evils. And "the destination" is a noun from "to become" regarding a transformation from one state to another. Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The words of al-Tabari regarding this verse imply that the reference of 'that' is to the companions of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - who follow him. Then he said: 'Shall I not inform you of what is more hated to you than these? You are the ones who have been promised the Fire.' This saying is attributed to an unnamed speaker, and all of this is weak.