Allah, exalted is He, said, “You are among those granted respite,” that is, those whose term is deferred. Elsewhere, He specified the duration of this respite, saying, “until the Day of the Appointed Time” (al-Hijr, 38). This is the first blast, when all created beings die.

“He said, ‘Because You caused me to stray...’” The scholars differed regarding the word “because.” It is said that it is interrogative, meaning: “By what means did You cause me to stray?” He then begins anew: “I will surely lie in ambush for them.” It is also said that it indicates requital, meaning: because You caused me to stray, I shall bear resentment toward them. Another view is that it is a verbal noun functioning as an oath; its sense is: “By Your causing me to stray, I shall surely lie in ambush for them,” as in His saying, “Because my Lord has forgiven me” (Ya-Sin, 27), meaning: by my Lord’s forgiveness.

Its meaning is: by Your power over me and the effectiveness of Your authority within me. Ibn al-Anbari said: that is, because of the misguidance You placed in my heart, which was the cause of my descent from heaven. “You caused me to stray” means: You led me away from guidance. It is also said to mean: You destroyed me; and it is said: You disappointed me. “I will surely lie in ambush for them on Your straight path,” that is, I shall lie in wait for the children of Adam upon Your upright path, which is Islam.

“Then I will surely come upon them from before them.” Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn Abbas: “From before them” means from the direction of the Hereafter, causing them to doubt it; “from behind them”: I shall make their worldly life appealing to them; “from their right”: I shall confuse them concerning the matter of their religion; and “from their left”: I shall make acts of disobedience desirable to them.

Atiyyah narrated from Ibn Abbas: “From before them” means from the direction of their worldly life—that is, I shall adorn it in their hearts. “From behind them” means from the direction of the Hereafter, so that I say: There is no resurrection, no rising again, no Paradise, and no Hell. “From their right” means from the direction of their good deeds, and “from their left” from the direction of their evil deeds.

Al-Hakam said: “From before them” means from the direction of this world, which he adorns for them; “from behind them” means from the direction of the Hereafter, from which he discourages them; “from their right” means from the direction of truth, from which he turns them away; and “from their left” means from the direction of falsehood, which he makes appealing to them.

Qatadah said: He came to them from before them and told them that there would be no resurrection, no Paradise, and no Hell. From behind them, he makes the affairs of this world appealing to them and calls them to it. From their right, he hinders them from their good deeds; and from their left, he makes evil deeds and acts of disobedience appealing to them and calls them to them. O son of Adam, he has come to you from every direction, except that he has not come to you from above you: he is unable to come between you and the mercy of Allah.

Mujahid said: “From before them” and “from their right” means from where they can see, while “from behind them” and “from their left” means from where they cannot see. Ibn Jurayj said: What is meant by the phrase “where they do not see” is: where they do not go wrong; and “where they do not see” means: where they do not know that they are going wrong.

“And You will find most of them ungrateful,” meaning: unbelievers. If it is asked, “How did the vile one know that?” the answer is: He said it as a supposition, and it proved true. Allah, exalted is He, said: “And Iblis had certainly proved his assumption true concerning them” (Saba, 20).