Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:39

(And the first of them said to their last) when they heard the response of Allah Almighty to them. The "lam" (preposition li- in li-ukhrahum) may here be for the purpose of conveying communication, as their address to them is indicated by His saying, the Exalted: (So you have no favor over us), meaning: "We and you are equal in the deserving of punishment and its cause." This is predicated upon the speech of Allah Almighty in the manner of consequence, because His informing, the Exalted and Majestic—by saying: (For each is a double [punishment])—is the cause for their knowledge of equality. Thus, the fa (in fama) is a response to an implied condition; meaning: "If it is such, then it is established that you have no favor over us." It is also said that it is a conjunction to an implied statement, meaning: "You called upon Allah, and He has equalized us and you, so you have no..." and this is not a sound view.

In any case, by "favor" they meant the mitigation of punishment and the unity of the cause. As for what has been said—that the meaning is "You have no favor over us in opinion or intellect, for the punishment that has befallen us has reached you, so why did you follow us?"—it is as you see (i.e., weak). It is also said the meaning is: "You had no favor over us in the world by following us; rather, your following and your not following are the same to us. Your following us was by your own choice, not by our compulsion of you." According to this, it is not predicated upon the speech of Allah and His response, as it was in the first interpretation.

(So taste the punishment), the multiplied [punishment], (for what you used to earn), meaning: because of your earnings, or that which you earn. It is apparent that this is from the speech of the leaders, said to them by way of retaliation, and its sequence from what preceded it—according to the final view regarding the meaning of the verse—is extremely clear. It is also permitted that it be from the speech of Allah Almighty to both groups by way of rebuke, and the pause is at (favor). It is also said: it is from the speech of both groups, meaning each group said to the other, "Taste..." and so on, but this is extremely contrary to what is apparent.