Tafsir of Al-Jathiyah 45:8

{He hears the signs of Allah...}

This is another description of him. It has also been said that it is a new sentence, or a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the pronoun in {sinner}. His words, the Almighty, {recited to him}, are a circumstantial qualifier for {the signs of Allah}. It is not permissible to consider it a second object for "hears," because the condition for that is that what follows must be something that is not [typically] heard—like saying, "I heard Zaid reciting."

The manifest [meaning] is that the intended object of "recited" is the signs, because that is what is appropriate for the sense of estrangement and improbability indicated by His saying, the Almighty, {then he persists}. For the sense of estrangement regarding [the act of] persisting after hearing the signs—where "then" (thumma) is for thematic sequence—is clear. It is possible to retain it in its literal sense, yet the former is more expressive and more suitable for the context. A parallel to this in expressing improbability is the saying of Ja‘far ibn ‘Ulayya: "None can dispel the calamity except the son of a free woman, who perceives the throes of death, then visits them."

Persistence (al-israr) regarding something is to remain attached to it without separating from it. It is derived from al-sarr, which means binding or tying tightly; from this comes the "bundle" (surra) of dirhams. It is said: "The donkey sarra (folded) its ears," meaning it drew them together tightly. Asarra is also used, though it is said in al-Sihah that one should not say asarra regarding the ears [but rather sarra]. The meaning here, then, is that he remains upon his disbelief and misguidance, being arrogant.

{Against belief in the signs} is a circumstantial qualifier for the pronoun in {he persists}. His words, the Almighty, {as if he had not heard them}, is a [second] circumstantial qualifier following the first, or a circumstantial qualifier for the pronoun in {arrogant}. It is also permissible to view it as a new sentence. The ka in ka-an is a softened form of ka-anna by the omission of one of the two nuns; its subject is the pronoun of state (dhamir al-sha’n). It has also been said that there is no need to assume [the subject of state], just as with anna (in the open form). The meaning is: he persists in arrogance just like one who has not heard them.

{So give him tidings of a painful punishment} This is because of that persistence of his. "Tidings" (bishara) originally refers to news that changes the complexion (bashara), whether it be for good or for evil. Custom, however, has restricted it to joyful news. If the conventional meaning is intended here, it is a sarcastic metaphor, or it is of the same nature as [the proverb], "A greeting among them is a painful blow."