His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands, he will say, 'Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.' 'Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken so-and-so as a friend.' 'Certainly, he led me astray from the remembrance after it had come to me. And the devil is ever a deserter to man.'" "And the Messenger will say, 'O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur'an as abandoned.'" "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals. And sufficient is your Lord as a Guide and Helper."

"Day" is an adverb, and the implied verb acting upon it is hidden. "Biting the hands" is the action of the regretful, distressed one. Ibn Abbas and a group of the interpreters said: "The wrongdoer" in this verse is 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt; this is because he had either embraced Islam or inclined towards Islam. And Ubayy ibn Khalaf, whom the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, killed with his own hand on the Day of Uhud, was a close friend to 'Uqbah. He forbade him from embracing Islam, and he accepted his prohibition. Thus, the verse was revealed concerning both of them; the wrongdoer is 'Uqbah, and so-and-so is Ubayy. In some narrations from Ibn Abbas, it is mentioned that the wrongdoer is Ubayy, for he used to attend the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and 'Uqbah forbade him, and he obeyed him.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Whoever included Umayyah ibn Khalaf in this verse has erred, except according to the view of those who see "the wrongdoer" as a general term.

And Mujahid and Abu Raji' said: The wrongdoer is a general term, and so-and-so is the devil.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It appears that "the wrongdoer" is general, and the intent of the verse is to emphasize the Day when the wrongdoers will disown their companions who commanded them to do wrong. When the close friend of every wrongdoer is not the close friend of another, and every wrongdoer names a specific man for himself, he expressed that by saying "so-and-so," which is a complete indication, and its meaning is one among the people. There is no wrongdoer except that he has in his worldly life a close friend who assists him and incites him; this is mostly the case. It seems that the cause of the verse and the arrangement of these meanings were 'Uqbah and Ubayy. His saying: "with the Messenger" strengthens that by making the definition of "the Messenger" refer to the specific, pointing to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And according to the first interpretation, the definition is for the general.

And all of them read "I wish I had not taken" with the 'ya' silent except for Abu Amr, for he pronounced the 'ya' in "I wish I had taken." And Abu Hamid narrated it from Nafi' like Abu Amr. And "the way" that is wished for is the path of the Hereafter. In this verse, there is a reminder for everyone with an end to avoid the companion of evil, and the hadiths and wisdoms in this regard are many and well-known.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Oh, woe to me!" The 'ta' in it is a substitute for the 'ya' in: "Oh, woe to me!" And the 'alif' is that which is in their saying: "Oh, boy!" And this is a dialect. And a group read with an inclination: "Oh, woe to me!" Abu Ali said: And leaving the inclination is better; for the origin of this word is the 'ya' "Oh, woe to me!" So the kasrah was changed to a fathah and the 'ya' to an 'alif to escape from the 'ya.' So whoever inclined returned to that which he fled from at first.

'The remembrance' is what a person mentions regarding his Hereafter from the Qur'an or a sermon and the like. 'And the devil is a forsaker of man' may be understood as a saying of the oppressor. It may also be an initial statement from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, indicating their misguidance and warning against the devil, who has reached that extent.

And His saying, 'And the Messenger said,' is a narration of the saying of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in this world, and his complaint about what he faces from his people. This is the saying of the majority, and it is the apparent meaning. A group said: it is a narration of his saying about that in the Hereafter. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, and Abu Amr read 'my people' with the vowel on the 'ya,' while the others read it with the 'ya' being silent. 'Forsaken' may mean: distanced and excluded, and it may also refer to the meaning of 'hijr' (with a damm on the 'ha'), indicating their saying: poetry, sorcery, and witchcraft. This is the saying of Mujahid and Al-Nakha'i.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Ibn Zayd says: it is a reminder for the believers to adhere to the Mushaf, and that dust should not cover it in the homes while they engage in other matters. Anas narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'Whoever hangs a Mushaf and does not take care of it will come on the Day of Resurrection hanging onto it, saying: This one has taken me as forsaken. Judge, O Lord, between me and him.'

Then he informed him about the actions of his people by informing him that other messengers were similarly tested by their enemies in their time, meaning: so be patient as they were patient. This was said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them. 'Enemy' refers to the plural; you say: 'These are an enemy to me,' thus describing both the plural and the singular and the feminine. Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, promised him with His saying: 'And sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a supporter.' The 'ba' in 'by your Lord' is for emphasis, indicating the meaning, as it is: be sufficient with your Lord.