and by disbelieving in the signs of his Lord. The punishment of the Hereafter is more severe than that by which He punishes them in this world and in the grave, and more enduring.

“Has it not become clear to them how many generations We destroyed before them, through whose dwellings they now walk? Surely in that are signs for people of sound reason. Had it not been for a word already decreed by your Lord, and for an appointed term, the punishment would have been unavoidable. So be patient with what they say, and glorify your Lord with His praise before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and glorify Him during the hours of the night and at the ends of the day, so that you may be pleased.” (128) (129) (130)

“Has it not become clear to them”—that is, to the unbelievers of Mecca—“how many generations We destroyed before them, through whose dwellings they now walk?” That is, through their lands and homes when they travel. The address is directed to Quraysh, who would travel to Syria and see the dwellings of the destroyed peoples: those of the people of al-Hijr, Thamud, and the towns of Lot.

“Surely in that are signs for people of sound reason”: that is, for those possessed of intellect.

“Had it not been for a word already decreed by your Lord, and for an appointed term, the punishment would have been unavoidable.” This involves an inversion in word order. Its intended sense is: Had it not been for a decree already issued by your Lord, and for an appointed term, the punishment would have been inevitable. The decree is the ruling that their punishment be deferred. That is, had there not been a prior ruling to defer their punishment, and an appointed term—which is the Day of Resurrection—the punishment would have been unavoidable for them, just as it was unavoidable for the past unbelieving generations.

“So be patient with what they say”: this was abrogated by the verse commanding fighting (1). “And glorify your Lord with His praise”: that is, pray at your Lord’s command. It is also said: pray to Allah, praising and extolling Him. “Before the rising of the sun” means the dawn prayer; “and before its setting,” the afternoon prayer; “and during the hours of the night”—that is, its hours, the singular of which is inā, meaning a single hour—“glorify Him,” meaning the Maghrib and Isha prayers. Ibn Abbas said: it refers to the beginning of the night. “And at the ends of the day” means the noon prayer. The time of the noon prayer is called “the ends of the day” because it is at midday: the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half.

It is also said that “the hours of the night” refers to the Isha prayer, while “the ends of the day” refers to the noon and Maghrib prayers, because the noon prayer is at