Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:182

"And those who denied Our signs..."—this refers to people like the inhabitants of Mecca and others. Some have limited it to the former, but the general meaning is more appropriate. The attribution of the signs to the pronoun of majesty (Our) is to honor them and to emphasize the enormity of daring to deny them.

The relative pronoun (Alladhina) is in the nominative case as the subject (mubtada'), and its predicate is the sentence "We will gradually lead them..." (Sanastadrijuhum), meaning: We will certainly bring them near to destruction, little by little. It is also permissible that it is in the accusative case due to an implied verb explained by the stated one.

Istidraj (gradual leading) is a form of istif'al derived from daraja, meaning movement, degree by degree, from low to high (ascending) or vice versa (descending). Al-A’sha used it in his poetry: "If you were in a well of eighty fathoms, and climbed the gates of the sky by a ladder, the speech would gradually draw you until you despise it, and you would know that I am not silenced by you."—in its absolute sense.

Some have said it is istif'al from daraja, either meaning to ascend, then expanded in meaning to be used for every gradual movement—whether by ascending, descending, or straight—or meaning to walk with a weak gait, as in "the child began to walk" (daraja al-sabiy), or meaning to fold, as in "the book was folded" (adraja al-kitab). It was then metaphorically applied to seeking every gradual transition from one state to another among the states that are favorable to the person moving and aligned with his desires.

God’s istidraj of them is by bestowing blessings upon them while they persist in their error. Hence it is said: "If you see that God Almighty bestows blessings upon a servant while he persists in his disobedience, know that he is being gradually led to destruction." This can be interpreted as "ascending" from the perspective of their view and their belief that the continuous flow of blessings is a sign of God's favor—which is the outward appearance. It can also be interpreted as "descending" in reality, because the human disposition, in its original nature, is sound and prepared to accept the truth, based on the principle that "Every newborn is born upon the Fitra (natural disposition)." Thus, he is initially in a position of potential for guidance and religion. But when he inclines toward the earth, follows his desires, and commits sins and evil deeds, he descends degree by degree until he becomes the lowest of the low.

In either case, the intended meaning is nothing but their progression through the levels of disobedience until the word of punishment—be it in the Hereafter or in this world—becomes binding upon them in its most hideous and atrocious state, and the bestowing of blessings is a means toward that, "...from where they do not know."