His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And they said, 'What is [the matter] with us that we do not see the men whom we used to count among the wicked?'﴾ ﴿Have we taken them in ridicule, or have [our] eyes turned away from them?﴾ ﴿Indeed, that is the truth, the dispute of the people of the Fire.﴾ ﴿Say, 'Indeed, I am a warner, and there is no deity except Allah, the One, the Prevailing.'﴾ ﴿Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving.'﴾

The pronoun in "they said" refers to the leaders of the disbelievers and their chiefs. Allah informed about them that they will remember - when they enter the Fire - a group of the oppressed believers. They will say this statement. This is consistent in every nation that has received a messenger. It has been narrated that the speakers among the disbelievers of the Prophet's time, blessings and peace be upon him, are: Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and the people of the pit, and those who followed their path. The men they refer to in mentioning them are Ammar ibn Yasir, and Suhaib, and those like them. This was said by Mujahid and others. The meaning is: We used to count them in the world as wicked with no share for them.

Abu Amr, Ibn Amir, and Al-Kisai tilted the letter 'ra' in "wicked." Ibn Kathir opened it, and Asim, and Asham, and Hamzah did as well. Abu Amr, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "Have we taken them" with an alif of connection, and its meaning is that this is in the place of the description for "men." The others read with an alif of separation for questioning, and its meaning is the confirmation of themselves regarding this, in a manner of reproach and regret, meaning: Have we taken them in ridicule while they were not like that? Abu Ali rejected the meaning of this reading.

Nafi, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "in ridicule" with a damm of the 's' which is the reading of Al-A'raj, and Shaibah, and Ibn Mas'ud and his companions, and Abu Ja'far, and Mujahid, and Al-Dahhak. Its meaning is from 'sukhrah' and usage. The others read with a kasrah of the 's', which is the reading of Al-Hasan, and Abu Raja, and Isa, and Ibn Muhaysin, and its meaning is the well-known meaning of ridicule which is mockery. From it is the saying of the poet:

I have received a tongue that I do not delight in From a lofty place, there is no lie in it nor mockery.

A group said: The kasrah of the 's' would be from the meaning of subjugation. And "or" in their saying: ﴿Or have [our] eyes turned away from them?﴾ is equivalent to "what" in their saying: ﴿What is [the matter] with us that we do not see?﴾ This is because it can be equivalent to what is equivalent to "who." Some grammarians denied this and said: It is only equivalent to the alif. The estimation in this verse is: Are they lost or have [our] eyes turned away? The meaning of this speech is: Are they not with us or are they with us? But our eyes turn away from them so we do not see them? And "turning away" means inclination.

Then Allah informed His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, by saying: ﴿Indeed, that is the truth, the dispute of the people of the Fire.﴾ And "the dispute" is a substitute for His saying: "the truth." Ibn Abi Abla read: "the dispute" with an opening of the 'm', and Ibn Muhaysin read: "the dispute" with tanween ﴿of the people of the Fire﴾ with the raising of the 'lam.'

Then He commanded His Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, to strip himself of all intentions towards the disbelievers except that he is a warner to them. This is a profound warning that stirs the souls. The rest of the verse is clear.