Allah says in response to their statement: "Say, 'Allah gives you life'" (45:26), meaning: this life. "Then He causes you to die" (45:26), meaning: the death. "Then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt" (45:26), meaning: no doubt in it; that is, the Resurrection. "But most of the people do not know" (45:26) that they will be resurrected.
Muhammad says: Whoever reads "hujjatahum" (their argument) in the accusative case (nasb) makes it the noun of "kana" (was), with "an" and its conjunctive clause; the meaning is: their argument was nothing but their statement. Whoever reads "hujjatuhum" in the nominative case (raf') makes "hujjatuhum" the noun of "kana" and "wa an qalu" (and that they said) the predicate of "kana".
قَالَ الله جَوَابا لقَولهم: ﴿قُلِ الله يُحْيِيكُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي: هَذِه الْحَيَاة ﴿ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي: الْمَوْت ﴿ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ﴾ لَا شكَّ فِيهِ؛ يَعْنِي: الْبَعْث ﴿وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ أَنهم مبعوثون.
قَالَ محمدٌ: من قَرَأَ ﴿حجتهم﴾ بِالنّصب جعل اسْم كَانَ (أَن) مَعَ صِلَتِها، وَيكون الْمَعْنى: مَا كَانَ حجتَهم إِلَّا مقالتُهم، وَمن قَرَأَ (حُجّتُهم) بِالرَّفْع جعل (حجّتهم) اسْم كَانَ و ﴿وَأَن قَالُوا﴾ خبر كَانَ.
