وَما يُكَذِّبُ بِهِ إِلّا كُلُّ مُعتَدٍ أَثيمٍ

And none denies it except every sinful transgressor.

EXEGESIS

Muʿtad is one who exceeds the limits of what is lawful and commits vicious actions (50:25, 68:12). It is also used to describe those who violate divine laws and misguide others by claiming that unlawful actions are lawful, or vice versa (5:87, 6:119). The Quran clearly states that God does not like the muʿtadīn (2:190, 5:87, 7:55). In this context, muʿtad means the one who transgresses.^{‎[1]Mizan, 20/233.}

Athīm is the active participle of the verb athama from the root word ithm. Ithm refers to those sins which corrupt life and delay receiving good rewards,^{‎[2]Raghib, p. 63.} and which entail misery and deprivation.^{‎[3]Mizan, 2/192.} In this context, athīm is one who indulges in sins. Hence, athīm commits transgression over transgression.^{‎[4]Mizan, 20/233.}

EXPOSITION

Believing in the Day of Judgement and returning to God may help guard people from committing sins. Those who sink into transgression will find it difficult to submit to that which prevents them from indulging in their sinful habits. Thus they end up denying the Day of Judgement and deny the resurrection: Then the fate of those who committed misdeeds was that they denied the signs of Allah and they used to deride them (30:10). The verse indicates that denying the Day of Judgement might not be based on logical or rational thinking but rather it springs from a desire to continue on the path of transgression without any deterrent,^{‎[5]Amthal, 20/25.} as the Quran says: Rather man desires to go on living viciously. He asks: ‘When is this day of resurrection?!’ (75:5-6).

A question may arise: is it justified to claim that all the people who deny the Day of Judgement are vicious transgressors? One answer is that when it comes to believing in the Day of Judgement, there are three possible groups: 1. Those who deny it categorically without having any solid proof for their categorical denial. 2. Those who are seeking to know the truth but are still confused about it. 3. Those who ignore the matter and do not feel it is important to pursue it. The vicious transgressors are those who decide to deny it categorically to justify remaining on the path of transgression. On the other hand, people who are not decided about the divine judgement because they are confused by the state of affairs of the world or those who are honestly seeking to find the truth but have not yet attained it, may not be sinful transgressors. As for the third group, they do not want to pursue an answer; thus, they are transgressing against both themselves and God. This is because they veil themselves from knowing the truth and consequently transgress against God by denying His justice without taking the steps to know Him.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Rāzī has mentioned that there are two possible meanings to this verse: 1. It is addressing a specific person from Quraysh who is either al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah or Naḍr ibn Ḥārith, or 2. It is a general statement addressing all those who deny the Day of Judgement.

[1] Mizan, 20/233.
[2] Raghib, p. 63.
[3] Mizan, 2/192.
[4] Mizan, 20/233.
[5] Amthal, 20/25.