to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and means: ‘Who can deny your account of reward and punishment after it has become clear to him that We created man as We have described?’ This was stated by al-Farrā’. He said that ‘the Recompense’ means requital.”

(I say: Several others said likewise. Ibn Abī Hātim narrated from al-Nadr ibn Arabī concerning “Who, then, can deny your account of the Recompense after this?” that it means the reckoning. In al-Awfī’s commentary, transmitted from Ibn Abbās, it means Allah’s judgment.

I say: He said “Allah’s judgment” because of His words, “Is Allah not the most just of judges?” He, glorified be He, judges between the one who affirms the Recompense and the one who denies it. On this interpretation, mā (“what”) in His words “What, then” describes persons. He did not use man (“who”), because mā refers to attributes rather than particular individuals, and that is what is intended here. This is like His words, “Marry such women as seem good to you,” His words, “I do not worship what you worship,” and His words, “By the soul and the One who fashioned it.”

It is as though it were said: “What kind of person, then, denies the Recompense after this?” That is, anyone with this description and these qualities is ignorant and wrongs himself. Allah will judge between His servants concerning their disagreements about this momentous news. As for His word “after,” it has been said that it means “after the proofs of the Recompense that He has mentioned.”