Tafseer of The Announcement · An-Naba · 78:27
Indeed, they were not expecting an account
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.
His words: إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا لا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ("Indeed, they did not expect any reckoning") (78:27). Allah, whose mention is exalted, says: indeed, these unbelievers (kuffār) did not fear in the worldly life that Allah would call them to account in the Hereafter for His favors to them and His benefactions toward them, and for their poor gratitude to Him for that.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, 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: لا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ("they did not expect any reckoning"), he said: it does not concern them, that they would hold the unseen to be true.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا لا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ("Indeed, they did not expect any reckoning"), that is to say: they did not fear any reckoning.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا لا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ("Indeed, they did not expect any reckoning"), he said: they did not believe in the resurrection, nor in the reckoning. And how would one expect a reckoning who is not certain that he will live, and who is not convinced of the resurrection? And he recited the words of Allah: بَلْ قَالُوا مِثْلَ مَا قَالَ الأَوَّلُونَ * قَالُوا أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا ("Rather, they said the like of what the former peoples said. They said: 'When we have died and become dust...'") ... up to His words: أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ ("...legends of the former peoples") (23:81-83). And he recited: هَلْ نَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى رَجُلٍ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ إِذَا مُزِّقْتُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ ("Shall we point you to a man who will inform you that when you have been disintegrated in complete disintegration...") ... up to His words: جَدِيدٍ ("...a new [creation]") (34:7); thus they said to one another: what is the matter with him — up to His words: أَفْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَمْ بِهِ جِنَّةٌ ("Has he invented a lie about Allah, or is he possessed by madness?") (34:8) — the man is insane, now that he tells us this.
