“O you who have disbelieved”—the explanation, and Allah knows best, is that the wording is intended to indicate that anyone whose disbelief is a firmly established, inseparable trait deserves Allah’s disavowal, while he too disavows Allah. A monotheist, therefore, is right to disavow him. In a declaration of disavowal, which signifies the utmost distance and separation, it was entirely fitting to describe him according to his true condition: the utmost disbelief, firmly established and inseparable. It is as though he were saying: “Just as your disbelief is firmly established and inseparable from you, never to be abandoned, so my separation from you and disavowal of you are firmly established, forever and always.” Hence the negation used here conveys continuity, corresponding to their firmly established, continuing disbelief. This is clear.
As for the ninth question: what is the benefit of His saying, “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion”? Does this convey any meaning beyond what has already preceded?
The answer is that part of the wisdom in this—and Allah knows best—is that the initial negation conveys disavowal: it is inconceivable and unfitting for him to worship what they worship, and they, too, will not be worshippers of the One he worships. The end of the surah explicitly establishes what the negation implies concerning them: the polytheism and disbelief that constitute their allotted share and portion. It is like someone who divides a tract of land with another person and tells him: “Do not cross my boundary, and I shall not cross yours. You have your land, and I have mine.”
The verse thus conveys that this disavowal entails our having divided our territory between us. Affirming Allah’s oneness and believing in Him have fallen to us: this is our own exclusive share and portion, in which you have no part. Associating partners with Allah and disbelieving in Him have fallen to you: this is your own exclusive share and portion, in which we have no part. Blessed is He who gives life to the hearts of whomever He wills among His servants through understanding His words.
When these and similar meanings reveal themselves to hearts, arrayed in flowing robes of beauty, they captivate those hearts and take complete possession of them. But to anyone whose heart has no life, they are like a beautiful maiden led as a bride to a blind, paralyzed man. All praise, then, belongs to Allah for His gifts, which know no end, and we ask Him to perfect His favor.
As for the tenth question—why their portion and share are mentioned before his portion