“It will be as though, on the Day they see the punishment of the Hereafter that they have been promised, they had not remained in this world (1) except an hour of a day.” That is, when they behold the punishment, the length of their stay in this world and in the intermediate realm will seem to them like but an hour of a day, for whatever has passed—even if it was long—is as though it had never been.

Then He said: “A proclamation”: that is, this Quran and the clarification it contains are a proclamation from Allah to you; the word balāgh means conveying the message. “Then are any destroyed,” by the punishment when it descends, “except the defiantly disobedient people”—those who have departed from Allah’s command.

Al-Zajjaj said: “Its meaning is that, despite Allah’s mercy and bounty, none are destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people.” For this reason, some have said: “No verse offers greater hope for Allah’s mercy than this verse.”