التفسير التبليغي
(How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief and had borne witness that the Messenger is true and clear proofs had come to them? And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.) (3:86)
(How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief...) These are a people who took injustice as their vehicle, for they disbelieved after their belief. This is a collective injustice upon which the entire people conspired, and no righteous man among them stood up to denounce this evil.
The word "how" (كَيْفَ) here is an interrogative indicating astonishment and questioning their state. How can guidance be hoped for these people when they have broken the covenant of faith and the pledge they took upon themselves?
Indeed, the truth calls us to wonder at a people who abandoned the effort of faith after they were among the diligent.
Guidance here is towards the effort of faith and following the truth, and it applies to those who are fair-minded. But these people believed and strove, then they became arrogant and made people doubt through this action. So how can one who brings that which contradicts guidance, after the truth has become clear to him, deserve the effort of guidance?
Indeed, the matter had become clear to them, then they apostatized. So how do these people deserve guidance after they had been saved from error?
The apostate knew the truth then turned away from it out of obstinacy and rebellion. So he is immersed in misguidance, far from rectitude.
The slip of a scholar is uglier than the slip of an ignorant person.
For clear proofs and signs came to them, but they did not take heed. So there is no hope for their return to the effort of guidance after these circumstances.
The verse refers to those who apostatized after their belief.
The apostate has known the truth then turned away from it out of obstinacy and rebellion.
(And clear proofs had come to them) The signs came to them, but they did not take heed. So there is no hope for their return to the effort of guidance after these circumstances.
(And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people) They wronged themselves when the truth came to them and they knew it, then they turned away from it.
They wronged themselves when the truth became apparent to them and its aspect became clear, yet despite that, they abandoned it.
(And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people) These people wronged themselves and abandoned the truth after they knew it, and they followed falsehood despite knowing its falsity, out of injustice, transgression, and following their whims. So these people will not be granted success for guidance, because the one who is hoped to be guided is the one who has not known the truth and is eager to seek it.
(And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people) due to their deep immersion in distancing themselves from the truth and accepting the light.
(And Allah guides not the wrongdoing people) those who turned away from it and turned to their whims.
He wronged himself because he led it to sources of calamity and punishment due to that turning away.
Allah does not grant success to the truth and correctness to the wrongdoers, and they are those who exchanged truth for falsehood, choosing disbelief over faith.
Their wrongdoing is great by betraying the covenant and the pledge.
Source: التفسير التبليغي