الَّذي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلّىٰ

He who denies and turns back.

EXEGESIS

Alladhī is a conjunctive referring to the most wretched. So the most wretched is He who denies and turns back.

EXPOSITION

Denies has been interpreted to mean denying the truth,^{‎[1]Jawhar, 6/419.} or denying the signs of Allah and His prophets.^{‎[2]Tabrisi, 10/761.}

Turns back has been interpreted to mean turning back from faith.^{‎[3]Jawhar, 6/419; Tabrisi, 10/761.}

Some have said that denies here refers to a theoretical inner rejection, whilst turns back refers to a practical rejection, such as not carrying out the required actions.^{‎[4]Mudarrisi, 18/155.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. In a part of a lengthy narration, it has been reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘He who denies and turns back refers to polytheists.’^{‎[5]Kafi, 2/30, h. 1.}

[1] Jawhar, 6/419.
[2] Tabrisi, 10/761.
[3] Jawhar, 6/419; Tabrisi, 10/761.
[4] Mudarrisi, 18/155.
[5] Kafi, 2/30, h. 1.