Tafsir of An-Naba' 78:40

{The man} refers to the disbeliever, due to His saying: {Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment}.

• The disbeliever: The noun is used in place of the pronoun to emphasize condemnation.
• {What his hands have put forth}: This refers to the evil he has committed, similar to His sayings: {And taste the punishment of the Burning Fire. That is for what your hands have put forth} (Al-Anfal: 50-51); {And We will make him taste on the Day of Resurrection the punishment of the Burning Fire. That is for what your hands have put forth} (Al-Hajj: 9-10); {For what their hands have put forth, and Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers} (Al-Baqarah: 95).
• {What (ma)}: It is permissible for it to be interrogative, governed by "put forth" (i.e., he looks at what his hands have put forth). It is also permissible for it to be relative, governed by "looks" (i.e., he looks at that which his hands have put forth). It is said: "I looked at him" (nazartuhu) meaning "I looked toward him," and the pronoun referring back from the relative clause is omitted.

Interpretations of "The Man":

1. General: It is general, and the disbeliever is specified from it.
2. Qatadah: It is the believer, and the disbeliever says: {I wish I were dust}—meaning, I wish I had been dust in the world so I would not have been created or held accountable, or I wish I were dust on this day so I would not have been resurrected.
3. Animals: It is said that Allah will resurrect non-accountable animals so that the hornless may take retribution from the horned, then He will turn them into dust, and the disbeliever will wish for their state.
4. Iblis: It is said that the disbeliever is Iblis; he sees Adam and his descendants and their reward, so he wishes he were the thing he once despised when he said: {You created me from fire and created him from clay} (Al-A'raf: 12).

From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Whoever recites Surah 'Amma Yatasa'alun (An-Naba'), Allah will give him to drink of the cool drink on the Day of Resurrection."