Yet this verse presents a difficulty because He says:

“Calls you a liar, after this, concerning the Recompense.”

Here He mentions both the person accused of lying and the matter denied. This is uncommon, though a similar construction occurs in His words:

“They have indeed declared you liars in what you say.”

In most passages, however, He mentions only one of the two: either the person accused of lying, as in His words:

“The people of Noah denied the messengers,”

or the matter denied, as in His words:

“Rather, they deny the Hour.”

Mentioning both the person accused of lying and the matter denied together is uncommon. This is why this verse proved confusing to those who took it as addressing man and interpreted His words, “What, then, makes you a liar?” as meaning, “What makes you a denier?” Others expressed it as, “What makes you a liar?”

Ibn ʿAtiyya said: “The majority of exegetes said that the person addressed is the disbelieving man. That is: What makes you a liar concerning the Recompense, setting up rivals to Allah and claiming that there is no resurrection, after these proofs?”

(I say: Neither interpretation is known in Arabic usage—that one should say, “Kadhdhabaka means ‘he made you one who is disbelieved.’” Rather, kadhdhabaka means “he declared you a liar.” To say “he declared you a liar” means that he deemed you untruthful in what you reported, just as the disbelievers deemed the messengers untruthful in what they reported and thus accused them of lying. This interpreter, however, says: