Tafsir of Al-`Alaq 96:8

"Indeed, to your Lord is the return." This is a threat to the transgressor and a warning to him regarding the consequences of transgression. It is said that the address is to man, and the shift [in pronoun] is to intensify the threat. It is also permitted that the address is to the Master of those addressed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the intent is also the threat and warning of the transgressor; perhaps this is the most apparent view, given the preceding addresses.

Al-ruj'a (the return) is a verbal noun meaning "the returning," like al-bushra (the tidings), and the alif within it is for the feminine [form]. Placing the prepositional phrase before it is for the purpose of restriction (qasr); meaning: indeed, the return of all by death and resurrection is to your Lord, and not to other than Him, the Glorified, whether independently or in partnership. You shall then see the consequence of transgression.

In these verses, according to what has been said, there is an inclusion of a warning against the blameworthiness of wealth, just as there is in the preceding verses an inclusion of a warning [and attention] to the praiseworthiness of knowledge. This is sufficient as an incitement toward religion and knowledge, and a repulsion from the worldly life and wealth.