Regarding His saying, exalted is He, “Or one who says, ‘I shall send down the like of what Allah has sent down’”: It was said that this was revealed concerning Abd Allah ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Sarh. He had accepted Islam and used to write for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. When the Prophet dictated to him, “All-Hearing, All-Seeing,” he would write, “All-Knowing, All-Wise”; and when he said, “All-Knowing, All-Wise,” he would write, “Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” When the verse was revealed, “We created man from an extract of clay” (The Believers, 12), the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, dictated it to him. Abd Allah marvelled at the detailed description of man’s creation and said, “Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators!” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Write it down, for this is how it was revealed.” Abd Allah then fell into doubt and said, “If Muhammad is truthful, then revelation has come to me just as it came to him.” He therefore apostatized from Islam and joined the idolaters. Then Abd Allah returned to Islam before the conquest of Makkah, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, encamped at Marr al-Zahran. (1)

Ibn Abbas said: His saying, “Or one who says, ‘I shall send down the like of what Allah has sent down,’” refers to the mockers, and is a response to their saying: “Had we wished, we could have said the like of this.”

Regarding His saying, exalted is He, “If only you could see,” O Muhammad, “when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death”: that is, in its throes. It is the plural of an overwhelming calamity, and the overwhelming part of anything is its greater part. Its original sense is something which engulfs and covers things; it was then used for hardships and afflictions. “While the angels stretch out their hands”: with punishment and blows, striking their faces and their backs. It was also said that this means stretching out their hands to seize their souls. “Give up”—that is, they say, “Give up”—“your souls,” meaning your spirits, against your will; for the soul of the believer eagerly awaits the meeting with its Lord. The answer to the conditional statement is omitted; that is, if you were to see them in this state, you would see something astounding. “Today you will be repaid with the humiliating punishment,” meaning, the punishment of disgrace, “for having spoken untruth about Allah and for having arrogantly turned away from His signs”: you considered yourselves too great to believe in the Quran and did not affirm its truth.

“And indeed, you have come to Us alone, as We created you the first time, leaving behind you all that We bestowed upon you. We do not see with you those intercessors of yours whom you claimed to be partners in your affairs. All ties between you have now been severed, and all that you used to claim has forsaken you.” (94)

“And indeed, you have come to Us alone”: This is Allah informing us that He will say to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection: “You have come to Us alone,” singly, with no wealth, wife, child, or servants accompanying you. The word “alone” is the plural of a term meaning “an individual,” like “drunken” and “lazy.” Al-A‘raj recited it without the long vowel, like the word “drunk.” “As We created you the first time”: naked, barefoot, and uncircumcised.