Tafsir of An-Naml 27:5

"Those" (Ulā'ika) is a demonstrative pronoun referring to those previously mentioned, who are described as possessing disbelief and blindness, and it functions as the subject (mubtada'). Its predicate (khabar) is "for whom is the worst of punishment."

It is possible that the intended meaning is that this applies to them in the worldly life, such that they may be killed, taken captive, or experience the intensity of the throes of death, due to His saying—Exalted is He—"and in the Hereafter, they are the greatest losers."

It is also possible that the intended meaning is that this applies to them in both abodes, which is the view favored by Abu Hayyan. In this case, His saying—Exalted is He—"and in the Hereafter, they are the greatest losers" serves to clarify that the punishment in the Hereafter is the greater of the two punishments. This is based on the premise that "the greatest" (al-akhsarīn) is an elative noun (af'al tafḍīl), and the comparison is made considering their state in both abodes. That is, they are greater losers in the Hereafter than they are in the worldly life—not that others are being compared to them—as indicated by the definiteness of both parts of the nominal sentence (the subject "they" and the predicate "the greatest losers"). The meaning is that their loss in the Hereafter is greater than their loss in the worldly life, in that their punishment in the Hereafter is absolutely incessant, whereas their punishment in the worldly life is temporary. This does not apply to other sinners among the believers, for their loss in the Hereafter is not greater than their loss in the worldly life in this specific respect; their punishment in the Hereafter terminates and is followed by eternal bliss, such that they hardly recall having been punished at all. This is what has been said.

Some have said: The comparison is made regarding the state in the Hereafter; that is, they are the greatest losers among all people in the Hereafter, unlike the sinful believers. It follows from this that their punishment in the Hereafter is greater than their punishment in the worldly life, and this suffices as an explanation.

Al-Kirmani said: The elative noun here is for hyperbole (mubālaghah), not for participation (shirkah). Abu Hayyan responded: It is as if he is saying that a believer has no loss at all in which a disbeliever could participate and exceed, yet he [Al-Kirmani] failed to notice that the intention is that the disbeliever’s loss in the Hereafter is more severe than his loss in the worldly life. Thus, the participation indicated by the elative form is only between what is in the Hereafter and what is in the worldly life. End of his statement. It is as if he concedes that there is no loss at all for the believers, which is a point of contention that is not hidden. The fronting of the phrase "in the Hereafter" is either for the sake of the verse-ending (fāṣilah) or for restriction (ḥaṣr).