Tafsir of Al Imran 3:90

(Indeed, those who disbelieve after their belief, then increase in disbelief)

'Ata' and Qatadah said: "This was revealed concerning the Jews, who disbelieved in 'Isa (peace be upon him) and the Gospel after having believed in their prophets and their scriptures, then increased in disbelief by [rejecting] Muhammad (may Allah exalt his mention and grant him peace) and the Quran."

It is also said: It refers to the People of the Scripture who believed in the Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt his mention and grant him peace) before his mission, then disbelieved in him after his mission, and then increased in disbelief through persistence, stubbornness, and hindering [others] from the path. This view is attributed to Al-Hasan.

It is also said: It refers to the companions of Al-Harith ibn Suwayd; for when he returned, they said, "We shall remain in Makkah upon disbelief as long as we have the means, and whenever we wish to return [to Islam], we shall return, and whatever was revealed concerning Al-Harith will be revealed concerning us."

It is also said: It refers to a group among his companions who would disbelieve and then revert to Islam. This is narrated from Abu Salih, the freedman of Umm Hani'.

(Kufran) (disbelief) is a tamyiz (specifier) transformed from a subject. The first 'dal' in (izdadu) is a substitute for the 'ta' of the ifti'al form because it follows the letter 'za''.

(Never will their repentance be accepted)

Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Al-Jubba'i said: "Because they do not repent except at the approach of death and the witnessing [of the afterlife], and at that time, the repentance of a disbeliever is not accepted."

From Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Because it was not from the heart, but was rather hypocrisy."

It is said: This is like the [poetic] expression, "And you shall not see a lizard therein in its hole," meaning: there is no repentance for them to be accepted because they were not granted the success to perform it. It is of the category of kinayah (metonymy)—as the scholar has noted—rather than majaz (metaphor), as the literal meaning of the speech is intended in order to lead to its implication. In any case, this does not contradict what the exception [in the following verse] indicates and what is established in the Shari'ah, as is not hidden.

It is also said: This repentance was not from disbelief itself, but rather from sins they were committing alongside it; they repented of those sins while persisting in their disbelief, so it was rejected for that reason. This is supported by what Ibn Jarir narrated from Abu al-'Aliyah, who said: "These are the Jews and Christians who disbelieved after their belief, then increased in disbelief through sins they committed, and then went to repent from those sins while still in their state of disbelief, so their repentance was not accepted. Had they been upon guidance, it would have been accepted, but they were upon misguidance." Based on this, the issue of the disbeliever being obligated to fulfill the branches [of religious law] arises, and this has been discussed at length in the books of Usul (principles of jurisprudence).

(And those—it is they who are the astray)

This is a conjunction either to the predicate of inna, in which case it is in the nominative position, or to anna with its noun, in which case it has no position. (Al-dallun) are those who have missed the path of truth and salvation. It is said: They are the destroyed, the punished. The restriction is in consideration of their being complete in their straying, so it does not negate the existence of straying in others as well.