'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The Exalted said: "So We will surely make those who disbelieved taste a severe punishment, and We will surely recompense them the worst of what they were doing." "That is the recompense of the enemies of Allah; the Fire, for them therein is a dwelling of eternity, a recompense for what they used to deny of Our signs." "And those who disbelieved said, 'Our Lord, show us those who led us astray from among the jinn and mankind; we will put them under our feet so they will be among the lowest.'" "Indeed, those who said, 'Our Lord is Allah,' and then remained steadfast, the angels will descend upon them, [saying], 'Do not fear and do not grieve, and receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.'" And His saying, the Exalted: "So We will surely make those who disbelieved taste"; the 'fa' (so) has entered upon the 'lam' of the oath, and it is a verse of threat to Quraysh. The "severe punishment" is the punishment of this world, in Badr and elsewhere, and the "recompense for the worst of their deeds" is the punishment of the Hereafter. And His saying, the Exalted: "That" refers to the previous recompense, and "recompense" is the subject of the sentence, and "the Fire" is an alternative to His saying, the Exalted: "recompense." It is also possible that "That" is the subject, with the meaning being: the matter is that, and His saying, the Exalted: "recompense" is the subject, and "the Fire" is its predicate. And His saying, the Exalted: "for them therein is a dwelling of eternity" means a place of permanence and a residence of everlasting punishment. The prepositional phrase is firmly established in this interpretation, and it is possible that the meaning is: it is for them a dwelling of eternity, so in His saying, "therein" there is a meaning of specification, as the poet said: 'And in Allah, if they do not act justly, there is a just judge.' And in the reading of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: [That is the recompense of the enemies of Allah; the Fire is a dwelling of eternity], and "for them therein" has been omitted. Their denial of the signs of Allah is evident in the signs that are established for His creation, and in the verses of His Book revealed to His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Then the Exalted mentioned the statement of the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection, when they enter the Fire, for they will see the greatness of what has befallen them and the evil of their outcome. Their thoughts will wander regarding who was the cause of their misguidance and the beginning of their error, and their anger and rage towards him will intensify. They will wish to be in the severest of punishment, and at that time they will say: "Our Lord, show us those who led us astray." The apparent wording necessitates that "those" in their saying: [those] is for the generality, meaning: show us every misleader and deceiver from among the jinn and mankind. This is the saying of a group of the interpreters, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and Qatadah said: they sought the son of Adam who initiated killing and disobedience among mankind, and Iblis, the chief of the devils among the jinn. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And contemplate this, is this authentic from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him? Because the son of Adam is a believing sinner, and these only sought the misleaders in disbelief leading to eternity. And the strong opinion is that they sought both types, and some have clarified this statement by saying: every sinner who entered the Fire from the people of major sins seeks the son of Adam, and every disbeliever seeks Iblis. And the wording of the verse supports this interpretation; for it necessitates that the disbelievers indeed sought those who led them astray.

Nafi', Hamzah, and al-Kisai read "Show us" with a kasrah on the ra, and it is a vision of the eye. Therefore, it is an action that requires two objects. Ibn Kathir, Ibn Amr, and Abu Bakr narrated from Asim: "Show us" with a sukoon on the ra. Hisham ibn Amir said: It is a mistake. Abu Ali said: It is a softened form of "Show us" as they say: laughter and thigh. Abu Amr read with a slight kasrah on the ra, and it was narrated from the people of Mecca. Their saying: "We will make them under our feet" means: in the lowest level of the Fire, which is the most severe punishment, and it is the depth of the hypocrites.

And His saying, the Most High: "Indeed, those who said, 'Our Lord is Allah' and then remained steadfast" is a verse of promise for the believers. Sufyan ibn Abdullah al-Thaqafi said: "I said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: Inform me of something I can hold fast to. He said: Say, 'My Lord is Allah,' then remain steadfast. I said: What is the most fearful thing you fear for me? The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, took hold of his own tongue and said: 'This.'"

People differed regarding the implication of His saying, the Most High: "then remained steadfast." Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and a group went to the meaning that they remained steadfast in obedience and avoided sins. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, recited this verse on the pulpit, then said: They remained steadfast - by Allah - for Allah in His obedience, and they did not twist like the twisting of foxes.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: He, may Allah be pleased with him, aimed to lead people to the best and most complete. Otherwise, according to this interpretation, it would necessitate that angels do not descend upon one who is not steadfast in obedience at the time of death. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and a group with him went to the meaning: "then they remained steadfast" on their saying: "Our Lord is Allah," so their monotheism was not mixed nor did their faith waver. It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, recited this verse and said: 'The people have said it, then most of them disbelieved. Whoever dies upon it is among those who remained steadfast.'"

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The meaning is that he is at the first levels of uprightness, the safety of eternity. This is like his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever's last words are 'There is no god but Allah' will enter Paradise." This is what is believed, if Allah, glorified and exalted is He, wills. The sinners from the Ummah of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and others are of two groups: As for those whom Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has decreed forgiveness for and to leave them unpunished, there is no doubt that the angels descend upon them with glad tidings. They have only remained steadfast in their monotheism. As for those whom Allah has decreed to punish for a period, then to admit them into Paradise, it is certain that they will encounter all of that at the time of their death and will know it. It is not correct for their state to be like that of the disbeliever who is hopeless of Allah's mercy, glorified and exalted is He. Since this is the case, they have received the glad tidings that they should not fear eternity nor be saddened by it, and that they will ultimately attain eternity in Paradise. Are the believing sinners not under the promise of Paradise? They are included among those to whom it is said: ﴿And give glad tidings of Paradise which you were promised﴾. Despite all this, it is undisputed that the monotheist who is steadfast in obedience is in a more complete state and has a more perfect glad tidings. This is the aim of the Commander of the Believers, Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. In a similar manner, Sufyan al-Thawri said: ﴿They were steadfast﴾: they acted according to what they said. And al-Rabi' said: Turn away from what is besides Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And al-Fadl said: Be indifferent to the fleeting and desire the everlasting. In general, the more a person is prepared, the quicker they will attain the grace of Allah, glorified and exalted is He.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Do not fear and do not grieve﴾ is a general assurance in every new concern, and a complete consolation for all that has passed. Mujahid said: The meaning is: Do not fear what you are approaching, and do not grieve for what you have left behind of your worldly affairs. And in the reading of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: [The angels descend upon them saying, 'Do not fear'] by omitting the alif, meaning: they say, 'Do not fear.'