Allah (swt) reminds of His justice in dealing with His creatures and that He does not punish anyone until the proof has been established against them and a Messenger has been sent to them.
This verse states the answer of the disbelievers after thrown in Hell when asked: (…“Did there not come to you a warner?):
(… قَالُوا بَلَىٰ) (They will say,” Yes, …): The Arabic particle translated into (yes) comes as an answer to a negative question to affairm the opposite. For example, when someone says to you: “You are not entitled to anything with me.” And you answer: “Yes”, this indicates that you are not agree with him and that you are entitled to something with him.
(… قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا… ) (…a warner had come to us, but we denied): They admitted that a messenger had come to them but they did not believe him. Allah (swt) has sent them a messenger after a period of suspension so that they would have no excuse to say:
مَا جَاءَنَا مِن بَشِيرٍ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ
(“There came not to us any bringer of good tidings or a warner.”) (Al-Maida: 19)
Certainly, a messenger had come to them, warning them against the Day of Judgement but they did not believe him, even that they denied the messages and the revelation as a whole.
(… فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ… ) (…but we denied and said, ‘Allah has not sent down anything.…): Denial is detestable matter and reflects the rejection of the denier. Denial, as well, implies the turning away from the Divine path of guidance. Some People of Scripture were among those who said: ‘Allah has not sent down anything). It is narrated in the Sirah (The Prophet’s Muhammad biography) that a Jewish rabbi called Malik bin Nassif used to argue against Islam. He was very fat, as he used to overeat, on the contrary of the true rabbis who should be ascetic because they devote their times to knowledge and worshipping. When the Prophet (saws) heard that Malik bin Nassif used to impugning Islam a lot, he (saws) asked him one day:
“I adjure you by the One Who sent the Torah to Musa! Does the Torah say that Allah (swt) hates the fat rabbi?[1]
Malik got angry and immediately said: “Allah did not reveal to a human being anything.” Meaning that Allah (swt) did not send anything of what the Prophet (saws) said. So we know that such argument claim are made from the People of Scripture. When Malik said his words, a group of the Jews criticized him for his saying, so he replied to them: “Muhamad infuriated me, so I responded to him by this falsehood”. They said to him: “You are not qualified to be a rabbi as you disgraced us”. So that they dismissed him and appointed Ka’b bin al-Ashraf in his place. Allah (swt) judges the disbelievers saying:
( إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ… ) (…. You are not but in great error.’): The expression of (You are not but) is found a lot in the Holy Quran. The Arabic word of (great error) means to go through a path that does not lead you to your goal. Meaning, the people who are in great error went through the wrong way so, they no longer have a guidance. The (great error) has many meanings:
1- Getting lost: this meaning is clear in Allah’s saying:
وَقَالُوا أَإِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَإِنَّا لَفِي خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ ۚ بَلْ هُم بِلِقَاءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَافِرُونَ
(And they say, “When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?” Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers.) (As-Sajda: 10)
2- Not knowing how to get on the right path: This meaning is clear in this verse:
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَىٰ
(And He found you lost and guided [you],) (Adh-Dhuha: 7)
It is as if Allah (swt) is saying to the Prophet Muhammad (saws): O’ Muhammad, you did not approve Quraish in their worshipping the idols and you kept searching for the right way until Allah (swt) guided you and revealed to you the right path. Meaning, you were lost and were looking for the guidance till the great blessing came to you from Allah (swt).
3- Deviating from the right path after having recognized it, and going far from its approach: This happens due to one’s personal interests which lead him to astray.
Hence, the (great error) is to follow the way that does not guide to the intended destiny. Every step a person takes in this way will lead him far away from the goal.
( إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ… ) (…. You are not but in great error.’): They are not only in deviation but also in extreme error. Some scholars said that these words are said by the disbelievers themselves, as complementary to their saying: (Allah has not sent down anything.), directing these words to their prophets.
[1] Kashf al-Khafa’ wa Muzeel al-Ilbas: Hadith No. 761.