According to this exegete, the verse informs that on the Day of Judgment, Allah will not accept ransom, friendship, or intercession from the disbelievers; moreover, it commands the believers to prepare a reward for themselves with Allah by spending from their wealth and giving charity while in this world. The text explains that although the verse addresses the believers at its beginning, the threat (warning expression) is directed at the disbelievers, because two groups (disbelievers and believers) are mentioned beforehand. It is stated that those referred to by the term 'wrongdoers' are the disbelievers who deny Allah and His messengers, and that they deserve this punishment by wronging themselves due to their disbelief.

فإن قال قائل: وكيف صرف الوعيد إلى الكفار والآية مبتدأة بذكر أهل الإيمان؟ قيل له: إن الآية قد تقدمها ذكر صنفين من الناس: أحدهما أهل كفر، والآخر أهل إيمان

In this text, Fahreddin er-Râzî successively narrates various disputed matters regarding the verse, such as the scope of the command to spend (whether it refers to alms-tax, all types of spending, or spending for jihad), whether the word 'az-zevac' means similar ones or people from the same faction of disbelief, and who the wrongdoers are. Furthermore, it is discussed that the wealth to be spent must come from lawful sustenance, the views of the Mu'tazilites regarding the relationship between major sins and threat, and whether intercession may be exclusive to the wicked believers rather than the disbelievers. Rather than establishing a single view, the text presents the interpretations of different schools (Hasan al-Basri, the Majority, Abu Bakr al-Assam, the Judge/Mu'tazilites, al-Kaffal) side by side.

فقال الحسن : هذا الأمر مختص بالزكاة ، قال لأن قوله : كالوعد والوعيد لا يتوجه إلا على الواجب وقال الأكثرون : هذا الأمر يتناول الواجب والمندوب ، وليس في الآية وعيد

According to this exegete, the expression in the text is a separate beginning of a new sentence (starting anew). Accordingly, the pronoun '(they)' is used for the Jews and Christians, not for Muslims; that is, the mentioned attribute is ascribed to that group.

ابتداء ( هم ) ابتداء ثان للمسلمين و أي اليهود والنصارى

According to Ibn Kesîr, the expression 'that day' points to the Day of Judgment, and the sentence is in the position of the subject containing restriction (limitation) in the predicate; that is, there is no one more wrongful than he who comes to Allah as a disbeliever on that day. Furthermore, through a statement narrated from Ata b. Dinar, attention is drawn to the importance of Allah using a different expression rather than 'the wrongdoers are the disbelievers.'

يعني يوم القيامة مبتدأ محصور في خبره أي ولا ظالم أظلم ممن وافى الله يومئذ كافرا وقد روى ابن أبي حاتم عن عطاء بن دينار أنه قال الحمد لله الذي قال ولم يقل والظالمون هم الكافرون

According to Beydâvî, this verse informs that the wealth which Allah has commanded to be spent from what He provided as sustenance must be given before the Day of Judgment arrives; because on that day, neither trade nor friendship assistance nor intercession will benefit in saving a person from compensation for what he neglected and from punishment. Furthermore, it is stated that the use of the word 'disbelievers' at the end of the verse for those who neglect to pay the alms-tax is intended to threaten them severely and to inform that neglecting to pay the alms-tax is one of the attributes of disbelief.

وإنما رفعت ثلاثتها مع قصد التعميم لأنها في التقدير جواب: هل فيه بيع؟ أو خلة؟ أو شفاعة؟ وقد فتحها ابن كثير وأبو عمرو ويعقوب على الأصل.