“The arrogant will say to those deemed weak, ‘Was it we who turned you away from guidance after it had come to you? Rather, you yourselves were guilty.’ Those deemed weak will say to those arrogant, ‘No, it was your plotting night and day, when you commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals with Him.’ They will conceal their remorse when they see the punishment, and We shall place shackles around the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed for anything other than what they used to do?” (32–33)

“And they say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?’” That is, the Resurrection. “Say, ‘You have an appointment on a Day which you can neither delay by a single hour nor bring forward.’” That is, you cannot precede it; namely, the Day of Resurrection. Al-Dahhak said: It is the day of death: you can neither delay it nor bring it forward, whether by an addition to or a reduction from your appointed term.

“And those who disbelieve say, ‘We will never believe in this Quran, nor in that which came before it,’” meaning the Torah and the Gospel. “If only you could see, O Muhammad, when the wrongdoers are standing”—that is, detained—“before their Lord, throwing words back and forth at one another”: each of them will respond to the other in dispute. “Those who were deemed weak”—that is, those held in contempt, namely the followers—“will say to those who were arrogant,” who are the leaders and notables, “‘Were it not for you, we would have been believers.’” That is, you prevented us from believing in Allah and His Messenger.

“The arrogant will say,” in reply to them—the ones followed in disbelief—“to those deemed weak, ‘Was it we who turned you away from guidance after it had come to you? Rather, you yourselves were guilty,’” by abandoning faith.

“Those deemed weak will say to those arrogant, ‘No, it was your plotting night and day.’” That is, your plotting against us by night