that would have been of the same kind as commanding him to believe and fear Allah, and forbidding him from doing what Allah has forbidden. But as for saying, “What, then, makes you deny the Recompense after this?”, he never denied the Recompense. Rather, he is the one who proclaimed it and believed in it. He is “the one who brought the truth and believed in it.” How, then, could he be asked, “What makes you deny the Recompense after this?” This interpretation is therefore unsound in both wording and meaning.

Moreover, the wording I have seen transmitted from Qatāda through a chain of transmission does not explicitly support this interpretation. Rather, he may have intended it as an address to man, for concerning “What, then, makes you deny the Recompense after this?”, he said: “Be certain, for clarification has come to you.” Every human being is addressed by this. If this is what Qatāda intended, the meaning is sound. However, they reported him as saying that this is addressed to the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. On that understanding, the meaning is false. The Messenger cannot be asked, “What, then, makes you deny the Recompense?”—even if the mind should entertain such an interpretation—for there are indications here that demonstrate its unsoundness. This is why Mujāhid sought refuge in Allah from it.

The correct interpretation is that stated by al-Farrā’, al-Akhfash and others. It is the interpretation preferred by Abū Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī and other scholars, as mentioned above. Abū al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzī likewise cited it from al-Farrā’, saying:

“It is an address