(And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them)

(And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators) A parable Allah struck for the one to whom He gave the Quran and clear proofs, yet he did not act upon it; and the cause of his swerving from guidance: following desire instead of the Book; and preferring this world over the Hereafter.

But he detached himself from them: he abandoned faith entirely, with no return.

So Satan pursued him: this is among the most severe of things, for the sinner follows Satan, but this one was a believing scholar who, after his knowledge and his faith, became a disbeliever, so Satan caught up with him and followed him, and he became a leader for Satan! And Satan a follower of his! So look at the eloquence of the parable; and that is because of the enormity of what he committed

“Whoever has received more of the blessings of Allah the Exalted, his distance from Allah—if he turns away from Him—is greater and larger; this is made clear by the saying of Allah the Exalted: And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs …” al-Tafsir al-Muharrar.

(And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he still pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.)

And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby in this world and the Hereafter; but he descended to (the earth: this world) and settled in it (Ibn Kathir)

So his example, whether you rebuke him or not, is like the dog: whether you pick up a stone and throw it at him or leave him, he pants; and this one, whether you admonish him or not, does not stop or refrain from the misguidance he is in, panting after this world, selling his soul to buy it.

Benefit: the servant must take the means of steadfastness; by putting the Hereafter before this world, and preferring following the Quran over following desire; so that Allah the Exalted makes him steadfast

— Shoroog Almehmadi