Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:10
Indeed, those who disbelieve will be addressed, "The hatred of Allah for you was [even] greater than your hatred of yourselves [this Day in Hell] when you were invited to faith, but you refused."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِذْ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى الإِيمَانِ فَتَكْفُرُونَ ("Indeed, those who disbelieved will be called out to: 'The aversion of Allah was greater than your aversion to yourselves, when you were called to faith and you remained disbelievers'") (10)
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: Indeed, those who disbelieved in Allah will be called out to in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, when they enter it — for through their entering it they will feel aversion toward themselves at the moment when they behold with their own eyes what Allah has prepared therein for them of the kinds of punishment — it will be said to them: The aversion of Allah toward you, O people, in the worldly life — when you were therein called to faith in Allah but you remained disbelievers — was greater than your aversion today toward yourselves on account of what has come down upon you of Allah's wrath against you.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ("The aversion of Allah was greater"), he said: they felt aversion toward themselves when they saw their deeds, and the aversion of Allah toward them in the worldly life — when they were called to faith but remained disbelievers — was greater.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِذْ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى الإيمَانِ فَتَكْفُرُونَ ("Indeed, those who disbelieved will be called out to: 'The aversion of Allah was greater than your aversion to yourselves, when you were called to faith and you remained disbelievers'"), he says: the aversion of Allah toward the people of error, when faith was offered to them in the worldly life but they abandoned it and refused to accept it, was greater than their aversion toward themselves when they beheld the punishment of Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His words: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ مَقْتِكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ ("Indeed, those who disbelieved will be called out to: 'The aversion of Allah was greater than your aversion to yourselves'") — in the Fire — إِذْ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى الإيمَانِ ("when you were called to faith") — in the worldly life — فَتَكْفُرُونَ ("and you remained disbelievers").
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ ("they will be called out to: 'The aversion of Allah...'") ... the verse, he said: when they entered the Fire, they felt aversion toward themselves on account of the acts of disobedience to Allah that they had committed, and it was called out to them: indeed, the aversion of Allah toward you when He called you to Islam is more severe than your aversion toward yourselves today, when you entered the Fire.
And the scholars of the Arabic language differed concerning the reason for the entry of this "lām" in His words: لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ("The aversion of Allah was greater"). Some of the language scholars of Basra said: it is the "lām" of inception (lām al-ibtidāʾ), for they were called out to, that is: it was said to them, because in calling out there is contained an utterance. He said: and a comparable example in the case-ending is that one says: "Indeed, Zayd (la-Zaydun) is more excellent than ʿAmr." And some of the grammarians of Kufa said: the meaning of it is: it is called out to them "that (inna) the aversion of Allah toward you...", but the "lām" suffices in place of one saying in the sentence: "I called out that (anna) Zayd is standing." He said: and a comparable example is His words: ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا رَأَوُا الآيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّى حِينٍ ("Then it appeared good to them, after they had seen the signs, to imprison him surely for a time"); the "lām" stands here in the place of "inna" in every utterance that approaches the meaning of saying, such as "they call out" and "they inform" and the like.
And another of them said: this is the "lām" of the oath, which occurs with direct speech and with what approaches direct speech, to indicate that what follows it is a fresh beginning. He said: and in the answers to oaths it is not permissible for them to stand in the place of the oath, for the "lām" is always accompanied by the "nūn" or not, and it suffices in place of the oath, since it only occurs together with it.
And the correct of the opinions concerning that is the opinion of him who said: it entered to announce that what follows it is a fresh beginning, and that it is the "lām" of the oath.
