إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَن لَن يَحورَ

And indeed he thought he would never return.

EXEGESIS

Ẓanna (thought): ẓann can hold two different meanings, that of absolute conviction (2:46, 2:249, 12:42, 18:53, 38:24, 69:20, 72:12, 75:28) or conjecture (2:78, 3:154, 4:157, 6:116, 6:148, 10:24, 10:36, 10:66, 38:27, 41:22-23, 45:24, 45:32, 53:28, 53:23, 72:7, and this verse). Often the meaning is only known from the context.

For Rāghib, ẓann is what one acquires as an initial impression. If it becomes strong, it evolves into knowledge (ʿilm), and if it weakens, then it becomes what is imagined (tawahhum).^{‎[1]Raghib, ẓ-n-n.} Lane defines ẓanna as conjecture, doubt, or to know, but not by ocular perception.^{‎[2]Lane, ẓ-n-n.}

Here, both meanings are appropriate, as it can include both those who vehemently denied the possibility of resurrection, as well as those who were more agnostic about it. In either case though, their convictions were based merely on fanciful conjecture.

Yaḥūra (return) is the imperfect form of ḥāra, which means to return,^{‎[3]Tabrisi, 10/697; Tabari, 30/76; Lisan, 4/217, ḥ-w-r.} or more specifically, to go back and forth.^{‎[4]Nemuneh, 26/309.} A miḥwar is a pole around which something spins, and taḥayyur is a state of confusion, because one’s mind keeps going back and forth between different thoughts. A debate is called ḥiwār or muḥāwarah, since arguments are exchanged to and fro.^{‎[5]Nemuneh, 26/309; Raghib, p. 262, ḥ-w-r.} It is said that the word is originally Abyssinian.^{‎[6]This is attributed to ʿIkramah and others (Qurtubi, 19/273). Related in Nemuneh, 26/306.}

Here it means that he thinks he will not be resurrected^{‎[7]Tibyan, 10/311.} and brought back in front of his Lord for judgement.^{‎[8]Mizan, 20//243-244.} This is similar to verse 64:7: The faithless claim (zaʿama) that they will not be resurrected.

EXPOSITION

A person who does not believe in a return to his Lord for a day of accounting is generally not worried about the consequences of his actions after his death, since he neither has any hope for reward nor any fear of punishment.^{‎[9]Tabari, 30/75.}

This verse is then intimately linked to the previous verse, as the person who has no aspirations for a hereafter will naturally occupy himself with enjoying the moment, engaging in different sorts of frivolous activities.

Note also the isolated rhyme of this verse, which separates it from the surrounding verses and makes it stand out. The lonely effect this places on the verse evokes the loneliness of one who does not believe in God and the detached lack of purpose – the existential dread as they call it – that denying an afterlife results in.

[1] Raghib, ẓ-n-n.
[2] Lane, ẓ-n-n.
[3] Tabrisi, 10/697; Tabari, 30/76; Lisan, 4/217, ḥ-w-r.
[4] Nemuneh, 26/309.
[5] Nemuneh, 26/309; Raghib, p. 262, ḥ-w-r.
[6] This is attributed to ʿIkramah and others (Qurtubi, 19/273). Related in Nemuneh, 26/306.
[7] Tibyan, 10/311.
[8] Mizan, 20//243-244.
[9] Tabari, 30/75.