It is He Who made you vicegerents in the earth.1 So whoever disbelieves will bear the burden of his unbelief.2 The unbelievers' unbelief adds nothing but Allah's wrath against them. The unbelievers' unbelief adds nothing but their own loss.
Footnotes
[1]
This can have two meanings:
[2]
(1) Now He has settled you on His earth after the passing away of the previous generations and nations.
[3]Qira’at: Ibn Kathir and Abu ʻAmr read it as: “. . . attempting to thwart . . .”
[4]Qira’at: Nafieʻ, Ibn Kathir, Ibn ʻAmer, Shuʻba and Abu Jaʻfar read it as: “. . . whatever you call upon . . .”