Surah 8. Al-Anfal, Ayah 50

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".

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.