أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۲۲﴾ وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِي كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَابِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُوا فِيهَا وَمَا يَمْكُرُونَ إِلَّا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿۱۲۳﴾ وَإِذَا جَاءَتْهُمْ آيَةٌ قَالُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ حَتَّى نُؤْتَى مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ رُسُلُ اللَّهِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَمْكُرُونَ ﴿۱۲۴﴾

﴾122﴿ Wa kazaalika ja'alnaa fee kulli qaryatin akaabira mujrimeehaa liyamkuroo feehaa wa maa yamkuroona illaa bi anfusihim wa maa yash'uroon
﴾123﴿ Wa kazaalika ja'alnaa fee kulli qaryatin akaabira mujrimeehaa liyamkuroo feehaa wa maa yamkuroona illaa bi anfusihim wa maa yash'uroon
﴾124﴿ Wa izaa jaaa'athum Aayatun qaaloo lan nu'mina hatta nu'taa misla maaa ootiya Rusulul laah; Allahu a'alamu haisu yaj'alu Risaalatah; sa yuseebul lazeena ajramoo saghaarun 'indal laahi wa 'azaabun shadeedum bimaa kaanoo yamkuroon

﴾122﴿ Is there someone who was dead, so We resurrected him and gave him a light that can walk with it among the people, is He like someone who can be in the darkness, he has not come out of it This is how the actions of the disbelievers have been adorned for them
﴾123﴿ And this is how we have made the leaders of every village criminals until they trick (against the truth) in that village And they do not trick except on their ownselfs and they do not know
﴾124﴿ And when a sign comes to them, they say, We will never believe until it is given to us like what was given to the Messengers of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty knows best the place where He appoints His messenger, Soon, those who have committed crimes will be disgraced by Allah Almighty and severe punishment because of the tricks they doing

[122] This verse presents the contrast between two groups and serves as an encouragement toward the Qur'an and monotheism (tawḥīd).
The meaning of (مَيْتًا) is shirk, along with the various forms of shirk mentioned in the previous verses. Ḥayāt (life) refers to tawḥīd. Similarly, mayyit can also mean someone ignorant, while life refers to the acquisition of knowledge.
(فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ) – This refers to the life of the soul through the recognition of Allah and the acceptance of tawḥīd, which comes by means of something that gives life to the soul—i.e., divine knowledge and guidance.
On one side is life and light, and on the other is death (shirk and ignorance) and darkness.
This verse is also a refutation of secularism, which does not differentiate between disbelief and Islam. It is also a rebuttal of those ignorant people who mock someone who moves from disbelief, shirk, innovation, and ignorance to tawḥīd, Sunnah, and knowledge.
(نُورًا) – Refers to the Qur’an.
(يَمْشِي) – Refers to either going about to invite others to tawḥīd or acting upon the Qur’an.
(كَذَلِكَ) – Just as faith is made beautiful to the believer, in the same way, disbelief is made attractive to the disbeliever.
[123] This is the fifth obstacle in the path of conveying the message (da‘wah). When the opposition from scholars reaches its peak, they begin reporting false accusations about the monotheists to the leaders and those in power. These authorities then plot harsh schemes against the believers—imprisoning them, expelling them from their homelands, and more.
Allah the Exalted states that the evil consequences of their schemes will ultimately fall back upon them.
(أَكَابِرَ) – This word is mentioned to indicate that arrogance (kibr) was the root cause of their crimes.
(لِيَمْكُرُوا) – The lām here indicates the ultimate outcome (lām al-‘āqibah), as seen in verse 16 of Surah Al-Isrā’ and verse 22 of Surah Nūḥ.
In contrast to them, the Qur’an and the hadith of Heraclius make it clear that the followers of the messengers are usually the weak and downtrodden.
The ḥīlah (plot or scheme) here—according to Ibn Kathīr—is referring to calling others toward misguidance. It is narrated from Sufyān that every instance of makr (plotting) in the Qur’an refers to actions, and harming the monotheists is also included in these evil schemes.
[124] This part mentions the scheming of the elites (akābir) and their arrogance. It serves as a rebuke (tanbīh)—that the leaders, out of pride, consider themselves equal to the messengers. They demand the descent of angels or claim that they, too, should receive revelation.
The response to this is the statement: “Allah knows best”—meaning that Allah the Exalted knows, based on the Prophet’s lineage, tribe, character, and conduct, that he is worthy of prophethood. This is not something that can be judged by human standards.
(عِنْدَ اللَّهِ) – This either refers to the Day of Judgment, or it means “from Allah”, in which case it includes this worldly life as well. This statement is lofty and comprehensive.
As for (حَتَّى نُؤْتَى مِثْلَ) – it can also imply that their scholars and leaders wanted their own people to perform the same miracles or works as the prophets and the truthful. This reflects their arrogance and jealousy toward the people of truth.