His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"On the Day when faces will be white and faces will be black. As for those whose faces have turned black, [it will be said], 'Did you disbelieve after your faith? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve.' And as for those whose faces have turned white, they will be in the mercy of Allah, therein abiding forever."

The operative word in His saying: "On the Day" is the verb to which the 'lam' in His saying: (And for them is a great punishment) is related. Al-Zajjaj said: Its meaning is: And there will be established for them a great punishment. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is weak in terms of meaning, because it implies that the punishment is magnified on that Day, and it is not permissible for the operative word to be His saying: "punishment" because it is a noun that has been described.

The whiteness of the faces is an expression of their radiance, illumination, and joy from the mercy of Allah, as Al-Zajjaj and others have said. I hold that this may be from the effects of ablution, as the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "You are the bright ones, the illuminated ones, from the effects of ablution." As for the blackness of the faces, the interpreters have said: It is an expression of their gloom and darkness due to the anguish of punishment. It may be that this blackness is a darkness that Allah sends upon them in the manner of deformity and representation of them, similar to their gathering in a blue state, and this is the ugliest appearance. From this is the saying of Bashar:

"And for the miser over his wealth, there are blue eyes with black faces."

And Yahya ibn Waththab read: "will be whitened and will be blackened" with a kasra on the 'ta', and Al-Zuhri read: "faces will be whitened and faces will be blackened" with an alif, and this is a dialect.

And since the beginning of this verse is an announcement about a state that does not pertain to any specific individual, it began with the mention of whiteness due to its nobility, and that it is the ideal state. When the meaning was understood and the disbelievers and believers were identified, it began with the mention of those whose faces have turned black due to the concern of warning about their state.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Did you disbelieve?" is an affirmation and reproach related to an omitted phrase, the meaning of which is: It will be said to them: Did you disbelieve? In this omitted phrase is the answer to "as for", and this is the essence of the address, which is that there is something implied in the speech that the meaning cannot do without, like His saying, exalted is He: "So whoever among you is ill or on a journey, then a number of other days." [Al-Baqarah: 184] The meaning is: So he should fast, then a number of other days.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿After your faith﴾ implies that these who are being held accountable have a prior faith. The people of interpretation have differed in identifying them. Ubayy ibn Ka'b said: The ones being held accountable are all the disbelievers, and the faith referred to when it is said: "After your faith" is the faith they acknowledged on the day they were asked: "Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes." Most of the interpreters said: What is meant by the accountability in this verse is the people of the qiblah from this nation. Then they differed. Al-Hasan said: The verse is about the hypocrites, who believe with their tongues and disbelieve with their hearts. They will be asked: Did you disbelieve after your faith? Meaning that faith with their tongues. Al-Suddi said: It is about those who disbelieved from the people of the qiblah when they fought. Abu Umamah said: The verse is about the Khawarij. Qatadah said: The verse is about the people of apostasy. From him is the hadith: "Surely, there will come to my pond men from my companions until when they are brought to me, they will be seized, and I will say: My companions! My companions! It will be said: You do not know what they innovated after you. I will say: So be away! So be away!" In some of its narrations: "And I will call to them: Come! Come!" Al-Nahhas mentioned a saying: The verse is about the Jews, because they believed in the attributes of Muhammad and sought victory through him. When what came to them was from others, they disbelieved. This is disbelief after faith. It has been narrated from Malik that he said: The verse is about the people of desires.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If this is the case, then it is about those among them who say what is disbelief. A hadith has been narrated that the verse is about the Qadariyyah. Abu Umamah said: We heard from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, that it is about the Haruriyyah. It has been previously mentioned that it is about the Khawarij, and this is one opinion. And "what" in His saying "by what you were" is a source; and His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So in the mercy of Allah﴾ means in the bliss that is the result of the mercy of Allah. And His saying thereafter: "they are in it" is an affirmation with two sentences, as the speech would stand without it.