There are two possibilities as to whom the pronoun “he” refers back to. Some said it goes back to the most miserable one who rose up to kill the she-camel, 100 while others held that it goes back to Allah Himself.101 The generic nature of this verse allows for both positions to be true.
If it refers back to the person who killed the she-camel, it means that he rose to kill the she-camel while not fearing the consequences of doing so. Allah first mentions what He did with him and his people, and then mentions how that person did not expect any of this to happen as if to mock him and his stupidity. Recall how earlier Allah mentioned how breaking apart the intricate balance of the soul leads people to even become intellectually handicapped and this is a continuation of that point. If the pronoun goes back to Allah Himself, then this verse serves as a kināyah - an allusion or an indirect expression - of the fact Allah is the overpowering One whose defeated adversary is incapable of taking revenge against Him. It could also be an analogy of their condition after being annihilated by Allah, where Allah likens them to someone who leaves behind no one who can take revenge on their behalf.102
100 al-Ṭ abarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān, vol. 24, p. 452-453 101 al-Ṭ abarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān, vol. 24, p. 451 102 Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, vol. 30, p. 375
While he does not fear its consequence
There are two possibilities as to whom the pronoun “he” refers back to. Some said it goes back to the most miserable one who rose up to kill the she-camel, 100 while others held that it goes back to Allah Himself.101 The generic nature of this verse allows for both positions to be true.
If it refers back to the person who killed the she-camel, it means that he rose to kill the she-camel while not fearing the consequences of doing so. Allah first mentions what He did with him and his people, and then mentions how that person did not expect any of this to happen as if to mock him and his stupidity. Recall how earlier Allah mentioned how breaking apart the intricate balance of the soul leads people to even become intellectually handicapped and this is a continuation of that point. If the pronoun goes back to Allah Himself, then this verse serves as a kināyah - an allusion or an indirect expression - of the fact Allah is the overpowering One whose defeated adversary is incapable of taking revenge against Him. It could also be an analogy of their condition after being annihilated by Allah, where Allah likens them to someone who leaves behind no one who can take revenge on their behalf.102
100 al-Ṭ abarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān, vol. 24, p. 452-453
101 al-Ṭ abarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān, vol. 24, p. 451
102 Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, vol. 30, p. 375