until even Abraham, peace be upon him, calls upon his Lord: “I ask You only for myself.” (1)

“Every community will be summoned to its record,” containing its deeds. Ya‘qub recited “every community” in the accusative case. They will be told: “Today you will be recompensed for what you used to do.”

“This is Our record, speaking against you in truth. Indeed, We had your deeds recorded. (29) As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is the clear triumph. (30) But as for those who disbelieved: ‘Were My verses not recited to you, yet you acted arrogantly and became a sinful people?’ (31) And when it was said, ‘Allah’s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Hour,’ you said, ‘We do not know what the Hour is. We have nothing but conjecture, and we are not certain.’ (32)”

“This is Our record”: that is, the register of the recording angels. “Speaking against you in truth”: it bears witness against you with a conclusive statement, as though it were speaking. ⦗122/b⦘ It was also said that the record intended is the Preserved Tablet. “Indeed, We had your deeds recorded”: that is, We command the angels to copy your deeds—that is, to write them down and establish them against you.

It was also said that “We had recorded” means: We take a copy of it. This is because the two angels raise up a person’s deeds, and Allah records from them whatever entails reward or punishment for him, while He discards idle speech, such as their saying, “Come here,” and, “Go.”

It was also said that the copying is from the Preserved Tablet: every year, the angels transcribe whatever will occur of the deeds of the children of Adam. Copying can only be from an original; thus, one record is copied from another.

Al-Dahhak said: “We had recorded” means: We establish. Al-Suddi said: We write. Al-Hasan said: We preserve.

“As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is the clear triumph”: the manifest victory. (2)

“But as for those who disbelieved”: they will be told, “Were My verses not recited to you, yet you acted arrogantly and became a sinful people?”—arrogant disbelievers.

“And when it was said, ‘Allah’s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Hour’”: Hamzah recited “and the Hour” in the accusative case, connecting it to “the promise”; the others recited it in the nominative, as the subject of a new clause. “You said, ‘We do not know what the Hour is. We have nothing but conjecture’”: that is, we know this only through guesswork and speculation. “And we are not certain”: that it will indeed come to pass.