Al-Ankabut: 68

"And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah" (by claiming that He, Glorified be He, has a partner). It is considered a lie against Allah the Exalted because it concerns Him; it is as if you were to say: "He lied about Zayd," when you attribute to him that which is not in him.

"Or denies the truth"—meaning the Messenger or the Book—"when it comes to him"—that is, at the moment of its arrival to him. This contains a condemnation of their lack of reflection and restraint; they did not pause when it reached them, but rather hastened to deny it the moment they heard it.

"Is there not in Hell a residence for the disbelievers?"—meaning a place of abiding and dwelling for them, or a location where they reside and remain. The statement, in both interpretations, serves to establish their dwelling in Hell, for the interrogative carries the meaning of negation, and it has entered upon a negation (the 'lam' of "Alaysa"). The negation of a negation is an affirmation, as in the statement of Jarir: "Are you not the best of those who rode upon mounts, and the most generous of the worlds in the palms of their hands?"—meaning: do they not deserve the residence or the place of dwelling therein, given that they have invented this lie against Allah the Exalted and denied the truth with such denial? Or, it is an expression of denial and astonishment at their audacity in committing the aforementioned invention and denial, despite their knowledge of the state of the disbelievers—that is, do they not know that in Hell there is a residence for the disbelievers, that they might dare such an act? They are considered as those who know of this due to its clarity and manifest nature, so they are placed in the position of one who is aware of it.

The definite article in "the disbelievers" (al-kafirin): Under the first interpretation, it refers to a specific group, meaning those previously spoken of—the people of Makkah. The explicit noun was used in place of the pronoun to indicate the reason for their deserving this residence. This does not contradict the apparent meaning that the cause is their invention and denial, for they are not mutually exclusive, and a cause may indeed be plural. Under the second interpretation, it refers to the genus, meaning the entire category of disbelievers, and those [the people of Makkah] are included in it as a primary, evidentiary inclusion.