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Surah 8. Al-Anfal, Ayah 50

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وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۙ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَـٰرَهُمْ وَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابَ ٱلْحَرِيقِ
Walaw tar a i th yatawaff a alla th eena kafaroo almal a ikatu ya d riboona wujoohahum waadb a rahum wa th ooqoo AAa tha ba al h areeq i
AND IF thou couldst but see [how it will be] when He causes those who are bent on denying the truth to die: the angels will strike their faces and their backs,55 and [will say]: "Taste suffering through fire
  - Mohammad Asad

Or: ".. . when the angels gather in death those who were bent on denying the truth, they strike...", etc. - depending on whether one attributes the pronoun in yatawaffa to the angels, which gives the reading "they gather [them] in death", or to God, in which case it means "He causes [them] to die" (Zamakhshari and Razi). - The beating of the sinners' faces and backs is, according to Razi, an allegory of their suffering in the life to come in consequence of their having denied the truth while alive in this world: "They have utter darkness behind them and utter darkness before them - and this is the meaning of the words, '[the angels] strike their faces and their backs'." Most of the commentators assume that this passage refers specifically to the pagan Quraysh who fell in the battle of Badr; but while it undoubtedly does apply to them, there is no reason, in my opinion, to restrict its import to this particular historical event - especially in view of the subsequent passages (up to and including verse {55}), which obviously refer to all who are "bent on denying the truth".

If you could only see the angels when they were taking away the souls of the killed unbelievers! They were smiting their faces and their backs saying: "Taste the torment of the conflagration!
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
If only you could see when the angels take the souls of the disbelievers, beating their faces and backs, 'saying,' 'Taste the torment of burning!
  - Mustafa Khattab
If thou couldst see how the angels receive those who disbelieve, smiting their faces and their backs and (saying): Taste the punishment of burning!
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
If thou couldst see when the angels take the souls of the unbelievers (at death) (how) they smite their faces and their backs (saying): "Taste the penalty of the blazing fire. 1219
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In contrast to the taunt against those who trust in Allah, "that their religion has misled them," is shown the terrible punishment, after death, of those who laughed at Faith.

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