وَإِنّا لَنَعلَمُ أَنَّ مِنكُم مُكَذِّبينَ
وَإِنَّهُ لَحَسرَةٌ عَلَى الكافِرينَ
Indeed We know that there are some among you who deny [it].
And indeed it will be a [matter of] regret for the faithless.
EXEGESIS
Mukadhdhibīn (those who deny) in verse 49 is from takdhīb (denial, repudiation) as the opposite of taṣdīq (confirmation) and though they share a root, it is different from kidhb (lie, falsehood) and its opposite ṣidq (truth). For more on kidhb (lying) see the Exegesis of 72:5. Also see 78:28 and 78:35 for other forms of the word.
Some among you who deny in verse 49 refers to the denial of the Quran. This is said to confirm that not all will embrace the truth and that the existence of stubborn deniers is not proof against the Quran’s truth. If anything, the God-wary see the denial of the faithless as additional proof of the Quran being the truth because of the kind of people who fervently oppose and deny it.
In verse 50, ḥasrah (regret) is from the infinitive ḥasr which means to remove, put off, take off, strip, and so on. It is used for something that is covered or concealed and then uncovered or removed, such as the removal of clothes, or the removal of reins and a saddle from a horse, or the removal of clouds by the wind, or the removal of anxiety from someone, and so forth. A man having no head-covering, helmet, or armour, for example, is called ḥāsir. Lane references a tradition with the words ‘Build mosques ḥussara’, which he translates as ‘with bare walls and without ornaments or cresting’. And a bare land with no trees, or the exposed parts of a person’s body (such as the face, hands, and legs), are also referred to as maḥāsir. For similar reasons, a broom (that sweeps away that which covers the floor) is called miḥsarah.
From this meaning of ḥasr is also derived the meaning of fatigue and tiredness as the removal of power or energy, such as an animal being fatigued, or the angels not being weary from God’s worship (21:19), or the eye being fatigued (ḥasīr) from gazing (67:4).
Likewise, the meaning of regret given in this verse and of remorse or being vexed is also from this root and understanding. Ḥasrah means regret because that which is desirable has been removed and put aside (36:30, 39:56), or, because it refers to the realisation that dawns on a person when he was ‘covered’ in ignorance and then that ignorance is removed and stripped off, leaving a sense of despondency at a realisation of what was missed (2:167, 3:156, 17:29, and this verse).
It will be a [matter of] regret means their denial of the Quran will be a source of regret for them on the Day of Resurrection when they realise how badly they miscalculated and have lost bliss and happiness for all eternity. Several verses in the Quran attempt to show the intense remorse they will express but to no avail: A day when the wrongdoer will bite his hands, saying: ‘I wish I had followed the Apostle’s way! Woe to me!’ (25:27-8); Much will the faithless wish that they had been Muslims (15:2). See also 26:201-203 and 34:51-54. Their regret was also shown earlier in verses 25-27 of this surah.
With this understanding, it is very apt that the Day of Judgement is also called the Day of Regret (yawm al-ḥasrah) because people are covered in heedlessness but on Judgement Day this heedlessness is peeled off, leaving a deep realisation of what was ignored and missed, resulting in intense regret: Warn them of the Day of Regret (yawm al-ḥasrah) when the matter will be decided, while they are heedless and do not have faith (19:39).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From the Prophet: ‘The Quran is a proof, either for you or against you.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Zamakhsharī has posited that some among you who deny in verse 49 is not necessarily a reference to the Meccan polytheists and the faithless mentioned in verse 50, and could refer to the Muslims as well, meaning some of them will, in the future, disbelieve in the Quran. For Rāzī, the yardstick is materialism. Those who stay on guard against the love for this world will be reminded and admonished by the Quran and benefit from it, but those who incline to the world will deny the Quran and not draw near to it, even if they claim to be Muslims.
And for Qurṭubī, the regret for the faithless is not limited to the hereafter when they witness the reward of those who believed in it, but the Quran is also a source of regret for the faithless in this world when, despite their opposition to it, they are unable to answer the challenge to bring a surah like it (2:23, 10:38). Thus the Quran is a cure and mercy for the faithful; and it increases the wrongdoers only in loss (17:82).
[1] Lane, ḥ-s-r.
[2] Raghib, ḥ-s-r.
[3] Ibn Majah, vol. 1, h. 293; Muslim, h. 223; Nasai, h. 2437; Tirmidhi, h. 3517.
[4] Zamakhshari, 4/607.
[5] Razi, 30/635.
[6] Qurtubi, 18/277.