His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"Indeed, those who disbelieved after their faith, then increased in disbelief, their repentance will not be accepted, and they are the misguided." "Indeed, those who disbelieved and died while they were disbelievers, neither will any of them be accepted, even if he were to offer the equivalent of the earth in gold, even if he were to redeem himself with it. For them is a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers."

The interpreters have differed on how disbelief after faith, then an increase in disbelief, is to be understood. Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and others said: The verse is about the Jews. They disbelieved in 'Isa after having faith in Musa, then they increased in disbelief in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. This statement is problematic because the one who disbelieved in 'Isa after having faith in Musa is not the same as the one who disbelieved in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Thus, the verse, according to this interpretation, mixes the predecessors with the addressed.

Abu Al-'Aliyah Rafi' said: The verse is about the Jews. They disbelieved in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, after having faith in his attributes and their acknowledgment that they were in the Torah, then they increased in disbelief due to the sins they committed in opposition to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, such as slander, falsehood, and striving against Islam, among other things. According to this arrangement, the apostates who followed Quraysh and others enter into the verse.

Mujahid said: The meaning of His saying, "then they increased in disbelief," is that they persisted in their disbelief and died upon it. This statement includes the Jews and the apostates. Al-Suddi said something similar.

Then Allah, exalted and majestic is He, informed that the repentance of these will not be accepted. The Shari'ah has established that the repentance of every disbeliever is accepted, whether he disbelieved after faith and increased in disbelief, or was a disbeliever from the very beginning. Therefore, there must be a specification in this verse that clarifies and validates the negation of the acceptance of repentance. Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Mujahid, and Al-Suddi said: The negation of their repentance being accepted is specific to the time of the throes of death, the gargling, and the sighting. The meaning is that their repentance will not be accepted at the time of sighting. Abu Al-'Aliyah said:

The meaning of the verse is that their repentance will not be accepted from those sins they committed while they remained upon disbelief in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, for they would sometimes say: We repent from these actions while they are persistent in their disbelief. So Allah, exalted and majestic is He, informed that He does not accept that repentance.

The verse may, in my view, refer to a specific group among the apostates whom Allah has sealed with disbelief, and made that a punishment for their crime and their hostility towards the religion. They are those whom He referred to with His saying: "How will Allah guide a people..." [Aal 'Imran: 86]. He informed about them that they will not have a repentance that can be imagined to be accepted. Thus, the verse is akin to the saying of the poet:

"On a path that cannot be guided by its markers..."

That is: Allah has made them from His wrath in the category of those whose repentance will not be accepted, as they do not have it. They will certainly die upon disbelief. Therefore, He clarified the ruling regarding those who die as disbelievers after the verse. The status of these individuals became clear, as if He informed about these specific individuals that they will die as disbelievers. Then He informed the people about the ruling of whoever dies as a disbeliever and 'the misguided' who have erred from the straight path in words and actions.

And 'Ikrimah read: 'We will not accept' with the pronoun of greatness, 'their repentance' with the 'taa' in the accusative.

And His saying: 'Indeed, those who disbelieved and died while they were disbelievers'... the verse is a definitive ruling on every one who persists in disbelief until the Day of Resurrection.

And 'Ikrimah read: 'So we will not accept' with the pronoun of greatness, 'the filling of the earth' in the accusative. 'The filling' is what the container is filled with. It is with a broken 'meem': the noun, and with a opened 'meem': the source. You say: I filled the thing, and I will fill it, filling. And 'the filling' is the name of what you filled it with. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' and Abu al-Sammal read: 'the filling' without a hamzah, and it was narrated from Nafi'. And 'gold' was in the accusative as a specification. Ibn Abi 'Ablah read: 'gold if he were to redeem' with it, without a 'waaw'.

And the people differed regarding this verse in His saying: 'And if he were to redeem'; Al-Tabari said: It is related to something omitted at the end of the speech indicated by the entry of the 'waaw', just as it entered in His saying: 'And let him be among the certain' [Al-An'am: 75] for something left out of the speech, its estimation being: And let him be among the certain, we showed him the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and in this analogy, there is consideration, so reflect upon it. Al-Zajjaj said: The meaning is: None of them will have their spending and acts of devotion in this world accepted, even if he were to spend the filling of the earth with gold, and if he were to redeem with it in the Hereafter, it would not be accepted from him. He said: So Allah informed that He will not reward them for their good deeds, nor will He accept from them the redemption from the punishment; and this is a good statement. And some said: The 'waaw' is extra, and this statement is rejected. It is possible that the meaning is the denial of acceptance altogether in all aspects, then He specified from those aspects what is most fitting and most deserving of acceptance, just as you say: I will not do such for you in any way, even if you desired it from me; and the rest of the verse is a clear warning.