Allah describes how stubborn the disbelievers were in their disbelief when they said:

﴿لِقَآءَنَا لَوْلاَ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا﴾

(Why are not the angels sent down to us,) meaning, `so that we may see them with our own eyes and they may tell us that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.' This is like when they said:

﴿أَوْ تَأْتِىَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةِ قَبِيلاً﴾

(or you bring Allah and the angels before (us) face to face) (17:92). Hence they also said:

﴿الْمَلَـئِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَى﴾

(or why do we not see our Lord) Allah said:

﴿رَبَّنَا لَقَدِ اسْتَكْبَرُواْ فِى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَعَتَوْا عُتُوّاً﴾

(Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and are scornful with great pride.) And Allah says:

﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى﴾

(And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them...) (6:111)

﴿يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ لاَ بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُجْرِمِينَ وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْراً مَّحْجُوراً ﴾

(On the Day they will see the angels -- no good news will there be for the criminals that day. And they will say: "Hijran Mahjura.'') means, when they do see the angels, it will not be a good day for them, for on that day there will be no good news for them. This is also confirmed at the time when they are dying, when the angels bring them the tidings of Hell and the wrath of the Compeller, and when the disbeliever's soul is being taken out, the angels say to it, "Come out, O evil soul from an evil body, come out to fierce hot wind and boiling water, and the shadow of black smoke.'' It refuses to come out and it scatters throughout his body, so they beat him, as Allah says:

﴿وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَـرَهُمْ﴾

(And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve; they smite their faces and their backs...'') (8:50)

﴿وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّـلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ بَاسِطُواْ أَيْدِيهِمْ﴾

(And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands.) that is, to beat them:

﴿أَخْرِجُواْ أَنفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ﴾

((saying): "Deliver your souls! This day you shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter against Allah other than the truth. And you used to reject His Ayat with disrespect!'') (6: 93) Hence in this Ayah Allah says:

﴿يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ لاَ بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُجْرِمِينَ﴾

(On the Day they will see the angels -- no good news will there be for the criminals) This is in contrast to the state of the believers when death approaches them, for they are given glad tidings of joy and delight. Allah says:

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَـمُواْ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ أَلاَّ تَخَافُواْ وَلاَ تَحْزَنُواْ وَأَبْشِرُواْ بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ - نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى الاٌّخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِى أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ - نُزُلاً مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ ﴾

(Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah,'' and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the good news of Paradise which you have been promised! We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have what your souls desire, and therein you shall have what you ask for. Entertainment from, the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'') (41:30-32) According to an authentic Hadith narrated from Al-Bara' bin `Azib, the angels say to the believer's soul (at the time of death): "Come out, O good soul in a good body, as you were dwelling in it. Come out to rest and pleasant fragrances and a Lord Who is not angry.'' Other scholars said that the Ayah:

﴿يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ لاَ بُشْرَى﴾

(On the Day they will see the angels -- no good news) vrefers to the Day of Resurrection. This was the view of Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and others. But there is no contradiction between these two views, because on both of these days -- the day of death and the Day of Resurrection -- the angels will appear to the believers and disbelievers, and they will give glad tidings of divine mercy and pleasure to the believers, while they will give the disbelievers news that will bring regret and sorrow, so there will be no glad tidings for the evildoers and criminals on that Day.

﴿وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْراً مَّحْجُوراً﴾

(And they (angels) will say: "Hijran Mahjura.'') The angels will say to the disbelievers: `success is forbidden to you this day.' The basic meaning of Al-Hijr is preventing or prohibition, hence the word is used in the phrase "Hajara Al-Qadi `Ala Fulan'' (or, "The judge prohibited so and so.'') when he forbids him to dispose of his wealth in cases of bankruptcy, folly, being underage, etc. The name of Al-Hijr (the low semicircular wall near the Ka`bah) is also derived from this root, because it prevents people from Tawaf inside it, since they have to go behind it. The mind is also called Al-Hijr, because it prevents a person from indulging in things that do not befit him. In conclusion, the pronoun in the phrase.

﴿وَيَقُولُونَ﴾

(And they will say) refers to the angels. This was the view of Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, `Atiyyah Al-`Awfi, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, Khusayf and others; it was also the view favored by Ibn Jarir. Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Jurayj said that this referred to the words of the idolators.

﴿يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ﴾

(On the Day they will see the angels) means, they will seek refuge from the angels. This is because when disaster and hardship struck, the Arabs would say:

﴿حِجْراً مَّحْجُوراً﴾

("Hijran Mahjura.'') Although there is a point to what Ibn Jurayj said, from the context it is unlikely that this is what was meant, and the majority of scholars said something different.

﴿وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ﴾

(And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did,) This refers to the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will bring mankind to account for their deeds, good and bad alike. Allah tells us that the deeds which these idolators thought would bring them salvation will be of no avail to them, because they were not in accordance with the Shari`ah or Laws of Allah, whether in terms of sincere intention or in terms of following the Laws set out by Allah. Every deed that is neither sincere nor in accordance with the Laws of Allah is futile, and the deeds of the disbelievers are either one or the other, or they may include both, in which case they are even less likely to be accepted. Allah says:

﴿وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً ﴾

(And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.) Sufyan Ath-Thawri, narrated from Abu Ishaq, from Al-Harith that `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on Allah's saying:

﴿فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً﴾

(and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust (Haba').) "The rays of the sun when they pass through a small aperture.'' A similar view was also narrated through a different chain of narrators from `Ali, and something similar was also narrated from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, As-Suddi, Ad-Dahhak and others. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "This refers to the rays coming through a small window, and if anyone tries to grasp them, he cannot.'' Abu Al-Ahwas narrated from Abu Ishaq from Al-Harith that `Ali said: "Haba' refers to the dust raised by animals. '' A similar view was also narrated from Ibn `Abbas and Ad-Dahhak, and this was also said by `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.

﴿هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً﴾

(scattered floating particles of dust (Haba').) Qatadah said: "Have you not seen dry trees when they are blown by the wind This refers to those leaves.'' It was narrated that Ya`la bin `Ubayd said: "Ashes or dust when it is stirred up by the wind.'' In conclusion, all of these views are pointing out that the deeds of the disbelievers will be like some worthless scattered thing, and will be of no avail to them whatsoever. As Allah says:

﴿مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ الرِّيحُ﴾

(The parable of those who disbelieved in their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously) (14:18).

﴿يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُبْطِلُواْ صَدَقَـتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالاٌّذَى﴾

(O you who believe! Do not render in vain your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury,) until His saying:

﴿لاَّ يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى شَىْءٍ مِّمَّا كَسَبُواْ﴾

(They are not able to do anything with what they have earned) (2:264).

﴿وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَآءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئاً﴾

(As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing) (24:39).