His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And those who were oppressed said to those who were arrogant: 'Indeed, we have disbelieved in your deception by night and day, as you command us to disbelieve in Allah and to make for Him equals.' And they concealed their regret when they saw the punishment. And We placed shackles upon the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed except for what they used to do?" This is a response from the followers to the leaders when they said to them: 'You have only disbelieved by the insights of your own selves.' The oppressed said: 'Rather, we disbelieved in your plotting against us by night and day.' The plotting is attributed to night and day because it is in both of them. This addition indicates diligence and time, as they say: 'A sleeping night and a fasting day.' Sibawayh recited: 'Rather, it is plotting,' with the word 'plotting' being indefinite, and 'the night and the day' in the accusative case. It was mentioned from Yahya ibn Ya'mar, and it seems that its meaning refers to the prolongation of hope and being deceived by the days, along with the command of these leaders to disbelieve. And 'the equal' is the counterpart and similar. The pronoun in His saying: 'And they concealed' is general, including all those previously mentioned from the oppressed and the arrogant. And 'they concealed' means: they believed it in their souls. The beliefs of the soul are all secrets; nothing other than that can be understood. What appears from it is only words or indications. Some people said: 'They concealed' means: they revealed, and this is from the opposites. This is the statement of one who does not consider the meaning. As for the essence of regret, it can only be necessarily concealed. What appears from it is something else, and it has never been established in any language that 'concealed' is from the opposites. And His saying, exalted is He: 'When they saw the punishment' means: they encountered it and were certain of their presence in it. The rest of the verse is clear.