And who is a greater oppressor than He who ascribes a lie to Allah[1] or says, “I was granted revelation”, even though no revelation was sent to him,[2] and one who says: “I will now send down the equivalent of that which Allah has sent down.” And if you could but see when the oppressors face the pangs of death, and the angels with hands outstretched ˹say˺: “Take out your souls. Today, you shall be recompensed with the punishment of humiliation for the false statements you were expressing about Allah, and ˹because˺ you were being arrogant regarding His verses.”
Commentary
[1]
This part of the verse is about Musāylimah al-Kadh-dhāb (the Arch-Liar) who made a
false claim of Prophethood in Yamama, Saudi Arabia. Some people of the Banu Hanīfah tribe were convinced by
him.
[2]
This part of the verse was revealed due to ʿAbdullah ibn Abī Sarah, a
scribe of revelation, who once thought he began to receive divine revelation
himself and then became an apostate.
Before the Conquest of Makkah, during the Prophetic Era, he embraced Islam
again.
