فَمَن أَظلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَبَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَذَّبَ بِالصِّدقِ إِذ جاءَهُ ۚ أَلَيسَ في جَهَنَّمَ مَثوًى لِلكافِرينَ

So who is a greater wrongdoer than him who attributes falsehood to Allah, and denies the truth when it reaches him? Is not the [final] abode of the faithless in hell?

EXEGESIS

Mathwā: place of settlement, stay, and residence.^{‎[1]Raghib; Tahqiq, under th-w-y.} It can be simply translated as the final destination or abode. Despite its lexical meaning, the term is never used for paradise in the Quran, but only for hell.

Both questions in this verse are rhetorical and are intended as a threat and warning to the audience. The verse is almost identical to the verse: Who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates a lie against Allah, or denies the truth when it comes to him? Is not the [final] abode of the faithless in hell? (29:68).

EXPOSITION

This and the next three verses discuss the result of Then on the Day of Resurrection you will indeed contend before your Lord (verse 31).^{‎[2]Mizan, 17/259.} You would not want to be among those who lose their case in God’s court of justice. This group that shall fail are identified as the faithless, who will be settled in hell as their final abode. They are also identified as the greatest wrongdoers and are described by two traits: 1. Attributes falsehood to Allah. 2. Denies the truth when it reaches him. In other words, they claim that which is false, and deny that which is true concerning God.^{‎[3]Jawādī Āmulī, audio lectures on tafsīr of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, lecture 67.}

The first trait can be viewed as an implication of the second one, and the second one as an exposition of the first. A more likely possibility, however, is that the verse concerns two groups of people: the leaders and followers of misguidance.

It should be noted that the second trait describes one who not only has some wrong beliefs and practices, but he refuses to revise them when he faces God’s message brought forth by His prophets. He denies the truth when it reaches him, means that he denies the truth of a message that has been established by proofs and miracles.^{‎[4]Alusi, 12/258, narrated from al-Khafājī; ʿInāyat al-Qāḍī, 7/338.} Those who argue concerning Allah, after His call has been answered, their argument stands refuted with their Lord, and upon them shall be [His] wrath, and there is a severe punishment for them (42:16).

Based on this verse, the meaning of the term kāfir (faithless, disbeliever, infidel) in the Quran – or at least in this context – can be inferred: it is one who actively, knowingly, and deliberately rejects the truth and persists on his wrong ways despite having the chance to choose the right way over it. Otherwise, a person who has some false beliefs – due to ignorance, illusion, or social norms – but is unaware of them, cannot be called faithless by the standards of this verse. Faithless is one who has actively confronted the word of truth and guidance from God and has made a conscious decision about it. In other words, ‘faithful’ and ‘faithless’ do not constitute an exhaustive classification in these contexts. Rather, there is a third group that consists of those whose faith has not been tested yet. This sense of kāfir is confirmed by verses 59 and 71-72.

It is for the same reason that some scholars have used this verse to argue that if a person introduces an innovation (bidʿah) into the religion then he has stepped out of the boundaries of faith and should be excommunicated (takfīr).^{‎[5]Alusi, 12/258.} Innovations in religion are a clear example of attributes falsehood to Allah.

The concept of the greatest wrongdoer has appeared in fifteen places in the Quran, all of which describe – with some variation in expression – one or both of the two traits discussed in this verse. (There is only one exception, verse 2:114, which has a special context, and which can nevertheless be interpreted again to those who attributes falsehood to Allah.) This makes sense because the greatest wrongdoing is that which is deliberately committed against God, the truth. One who denies the truth when it reaches him could also refer to those who deny revelation immediately and in their first encounter, without reflecting upon it.^{‎[6]Qaraati, 8/168.} This kind of denial is inexcusable and is clearly a great wrongdoing.

One example of attributing a falsehood to God is to attribute a child or a partner to Him, as discussed in verses 3-4 (see also 10:68-69 and 18:15).^{‎[7]Tibyan, 9/25; Qurtubi, 15/257.} Another example discussed in the Quran is to make things lawful or unlawful by oneself on His behalf (6:143-144, 16:116). Thus, the two traits of the greatest wrongdoers could be summarised as their deviation from tawḥīd (God’s unity), and their deviation from the Quran (God’s revelation), both of which have been the focus of this chapter so far.^{‎[8]Tibyan, 9/25-26; the second deviation is narrated from Qatādah.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Concerning this verse, Imam Ali (a) said: ‘The truth is the guardianship (wilāyah) of us, Ahl al-Bayt.’^{‎[9]Amali.T, p. 364, h. 766.}
2. In a similar narration, the Prophet interpreted the verse as: ‘The truth is Ali ibn Abī Ṭālib.’^{‎[10]Manaqib, 3/92; al-Irbilī, Kashf al-Ghummah, 1/399.}
3. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) and Imam al-Riḍā (a) interpreted the truth as Prophet Muhammad (s) and Imam Ali (a).^{‎[11]Manaqib, 3/92; al-Irbilī, Kashf al-Ghummah, 1/399.}

Note: These narrations are some examples and applications of the verse at a secondary level of meaning, when it is generalised out of its specific context. At that level, the verse would apply to any truth.

[1] Raghib; Tahqiq, under th-w-y.
[2] Mizan, 17/259.
[3] Jawādī Āmulī, audio lectures on tafsīr of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, lecture 67.
[4] Alusi, 12/258, narrated from al-Khafājī; ʿInāyat al-Qāḍī, 7/338.
[5] Alusi, 12/258.
[6] Qaraati, 8/168.
[7] Tibyan, 9/25; Qurtubi, 15/257.
[8] Tibyan, 9/25-26; the second deviation is narrated from Qatādah.
[9] Amali.T, p. 364, h. 766.
[10] Manaqib, 3/92; al-Irbilī, Kashf al-Ghummah, 1/399.
[11] Manaqib, 3/92; al-Irbilī, Kashf al-Ghummah, 1/399.