Muqatil said: By His saying, “O children of Adam,” He meant the Arab polytheists, and by “messengers” He meant Muhammad alone, peace and blessings be upon him. “Reciting My verses to you”: Ibn Abbas said, “My obligatory commands and My rulings.” “Whoever is mindful of Allah and reforms himself”—that is, guards against polytheism and rectifies his deeds. It was also said: he makes sound what is between himself and his Lord. “They shall have no fear” when people are afraid, “nor shall they grieve”—that is, when they grieve.

“And those who deny Our verses and turn away from them arrogantly—they are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein forever. (36) Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah or denies His verses? They will receive their allotted portion of the Record, until, when Our messengers come to take them in death, they say, ‘Where are those whom you used to invoke besides Allah?’ They will say, ‘They have vanished from us,’ and they will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers. (37)”

“And those who deny Our verses and turn away from them arrogantly”: that is, they arrogantly refuse to believe in them. Arrogance is mentioned because every denier and disbeliever is arrogant. Allah, exalted is He, says: “Indeed, when it was said to them, ‘There is no god worthy of worship but Allah,’ they were arrogant.” (al-Saffat, 35) “They are the inhabitants of the Fire, abiding therein forever.”

His saying, exalted is He: “Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah”—by ascribing a partner to Him—“or denies His verses”—that is, the Quran? “They will receive their allotted portion of the Record”: that is, their share of what was written for them in the Preserved Tablet. The scholars differed concerning this. Al-Hasan and al-Suddi said: It means the punishment decreed for them, and the blackening of their faces and blueness of their eyes. Atiyyah narrated from Ibn Abbas: It has been decreed for whoever fabricates lies against Allah that his face will be blackened. Allah, exalted is He, says: “And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied against Allah with their faces blackened.” (al-Zumar, 60)

Said ibn Jubayr and Mujahid said: It means the misery and happiness that had already been decreed for them.

Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and al-Dahhak said: It means their deeds—good and evil—that they performed and which were recorded against them, for which they will be recompensed. ⦗129b⦘

Muhammad ibn Kab al-Qurazi said: It means what was decreed for them of provision, lifespans, and deeds. Once these come to an end, “Our messengers come to take them in death”—that is, to seize their souls; namely, the Angel of Death and his assistants. “They say”: that is, the messengers say to the disbeliever, “Where are those whom you used to invoke”—that is, worship—“besides Allah?” This is a question of rebuke and censure. “They will say, ‘They have vanished from us’”: that is, they have become futile and departed from us. “And they will bear witness against themselves”: they will confess, upon beholding death, “that they were disbelievers.”