His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿So some of them turned to others, blaming one another﴾ ﴿They said, 'Woe to us! Indeed, we were transgressors.'﴾ ﴿Perhaps our Lord will exchange for us better than it. Indeed, we are longing to our Lord.﴾ ﴿Thus is the punishment, and the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.﴾ ﴿Indeed, for the righteous are gardens of bliss with their Lord.﴾ ﴿So shall We make the Muslims like the criminals?﴾ ﴿What is [the matter] with you? How do you judge?﴾ ﴿Or do you have a scripture in which you study?﴾ ﴿Indeed, for you in it is whatever you choose.﴾

"Blaming one another" means: each one places the blame on his companion and absolves himself. Then they all agreed that they had transgressed, meaning they counted what was necessary of supporting the poor. Then they turned to hope in Allah, exalted and glorified is He, and awaited relief from Him that He would exchange for them, due to their repentance, better than that garden.

And the majority of the reciters read "He will exchange for us" with the letter ب (ba) being silent and the letter د (dal) being light. Likewise, this was read by Al-Hasan, Ibn Muhaisin, and Al-Amash. Nafi and Abu Amr read it with emphasis and with the letter ب (ba) being opened.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Thus is the punishment" is the beginning of addressing the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding Quraysh. The reference with "that" is to the punishment that descended upon the garden, meaning: thus is the punishment that will descend upon Quraysh suddenly. Then the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe upon them than the punishment of this world. Many of the interpreters said: the punishment that descended upon Quraysh, which is similar to the matter of the garden, is the drought that afflicted them for seven years until they saw smoke and ate animal hides.

Then He, exalted and glorified is He, informed that the righteous have with their Lord gardens of bliss. It was narrated that when this verse was revealed, Quraysh said: If there are gardens of bliss for us, then we have the greatest share in them. Then it was revealed: ﴿So shall We make the Muslims like the criminals?﴾. This is in the context of reprimand and rebuke. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿What is [the matter] with you?﴾ is another rebuke, an introduction and a statement, a phrase that stands alone. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿How do you judge?﴾ is also a phrase that stands alone. And "how" is in the accusative case with "you judge."

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Or" is to be understood as "but" and the letter ألف (alif) of inquiry. And "scripture" means: revealed from Allah. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Indeed, for you in it is whatever you choose.﴾ Some of the interpreters said: this is the beginning of a statement meaning: if you have a scripture, then you have in it what you choose. Others said: "Indeed" is dependent on "you study," meaning: in the scripture: indeed, for you is what you choose of bliss. The alif of "Indeed" was broken due to the entry of لام (lam) in the statement, and it is in the meaning of "that" with the alif being opened. Talhah and Al-Dhahhak read: "Indeed, for you" with the alif being opened. Al-A'raj read: "Is it indeed for you?" in the form of inquiry.