(174–176) “Indeed, those who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a paltry price fill their bellies with nothing but Fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they will suffer a painful punishment. * Those are the ones who have purchased error at the price of guidance, and punishment at the price of forgiveness. How astonishingly they persist in pursuing the Fire! * That is because Allah has sent down the Book in truth. Indeed, those who differ concerning the Book are in deep dissension.”
This is a severe warning to anyone who conceals any knowledge that Allah sent down to His messengers and concerning which He took a covenant from those entrusted with it that they must explain it to people and not conceal it. Whoever exchanges it for the fleeting gains of this world and casts Allah’s command aside—such people “fill their bellies with nothing but Fire.” This is because the price they have acquired was obtained through the vilest means and the gravest prohibitions, so their recompense corresponds to their deeds.
“Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection.” Rather, He is angry with them and turns away from them, and this is harder for them than the punishment of the Fire. “Nor will He purify them”—that is, He will not cleanse them of vile character traits. Nor do they possess any deeds worthy of praise, approval, or reward. He does not purify them because they have pursued what precludes purification. Foremost among the causes of purification are acting in accordance with Allah’s Book, taking guidance from it, and calling others to it. Yet these people cast Allah’s Book aside, turned away from it, and chose error over guidance and punishment over forgiveness. Nothing is therefore fitting for them but the Fire. How, then, can they bear it, and where will they find the strength to endure it?
“That”—namely, the aforementioned just recompense and His withholding the means of guidance from anyone who rejects guidance and chooses something else—is “because Allah has sent down the Book in truth.” Among the demands of truth is that the doer of good be recompensed for his goodness and the evildoer for his wrongdoing.
His words, “Allah has sent down the Book in truth,” also indicate that Allah sent it down to guide His creation and distinguish truth from falsehood and guidance from error. Whoever diverts it from its intended purpose deserves to be requited with the gravest punishment.
“Indeed, those who differ concerning the Book”—believing in one part and disbelieving in another—and those who distort it and bend it to their whims and desires “are in dissension,” meaning active opposition, “far removed” from the truth. They have opposed the Book that came with the truth, which requires agreement and excludes contradiction. Their affairs therefore became confused, their disputes multiplied, and division followed. By contrast, those who truly adhere to the Book, believe in it, and refer every matter to its judgment are united and enjoy loving fellowship through their common adherence to it.
These verses contain a threat of punishment and wrath against those who conceal what Allah has sent down and prefer the gains of this world to it. They state that Allah will purify them neither by enabling them to do good nor by forgiving them. The reason given is that they preferred error over guidance, which resulted in their choosing punishment over forgiveness. They then express anguish at how stubbornly these people persist on the path to the Fire by doing what they know will lead to it. They also affirm that the Book comprises the truth, which requires agreement upon it and the avoidance of division, and that anyone who opposes it is utterly remote from the truth and immersed in dispute and contention. Allah knows best.