“Were My revelations not recited to you, yet you persisted in denying them? They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overwhelmed us, and we were a people astray. Our Lord, bring us out of it. If we ever revert, then we will indeed be wrongdoers.’ He will say, ‘Remain there, despised, and do not speak to Me. There was indeed a group among My servants who would say, “Our Lord, we believe, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of those who show mercy.” But you made them an object of ridicule until they caused you to forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. Today I have rewarded them for their patient endurance. They are truly the triumphant.’ He will say, ‘How many years did you remain on earth?’ They will say, ‘We remained for a day or part of a day; ask those who keep count.’ He will say, ‘You remained only a little, if only you had known.’”
They will be told by way of reproach and blame: “Were My revelations not recited to you?” Through them you were called to believe, and they were presented to you so that you might reflect. “Yet you persisted in denying them” out of wrongdoing and obstinacy, even though they were clear signs that distinguished truth from falsehood and made plain who upheld the truth and who upheld falsehood. At that point, when acknowledgment will be of no benefit, they will admit their wrongdoing: “They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overwhelmed us.’” That is, they were overcome by the wretchedness arising from wrongdoing, turning away from the truth, pursuing what was harmful, and abandoning what was beneficial. “And we were a people astray” in our conduct, even though they knew that they were wrongdoers. In other words: In this world, we acted like bewildered, misguided fools. As they say in another verse: “And they will say, ‘If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not be among the inmates of the Blaze.’”
“Our Lord, bring us out of it. If we ever revert, then we will indeed be wrongdoers.” Their promise is false, for they are as the Exalted says: “If they were returned, they would certainly revert to what they had been forbidden.” Allah left them no argument. Rather, He cut off all their excuses and granted them a lifespan in this world long enough for [anyone willing] to take heed and for the sinner to desist. Allah will therefore answer their plea: “Remain there, despised, and do not speak to Me.” These words—we ask the Exalted to keep us safe—are the most terrible words the evildoers could ever hear, embodying rejection, reproach, humiliation, loss, despair of every good, and the announcement of every evil. These words and this anger from the Merciful Lord will be more painful and devastating to them than the torment of Hellfire itself.
He then mentions the conduct that brought them to the punishment and cut them off from mercy, saying: “There was indeed a group among My servants who would say, ‘Our Lord, we believe, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, for You are the best of those who show mercy.’” They combined faith—which entails righteous deeds—with supplication to their Lord for forgiveness and mercy. They appealed to Him by His Lordship, His favor upon them in granting faith, and the vastness of His mercy and all-encompassing kindness. Their words also expressed their humility, submission, utter need before their Lord, fear, and hope.
These were the noblest and most virtuous of people, yet “you made them”—O base unbelievers, deficient in reason and sound judgment—“an object of ridicule,” mocking and belittling them until you became wholly absorbed in such foolishness. “Until they caused you to forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.” What caused them to forget Allah’s remembrance was their preoccupation with mocking the believers; likewise, their neglect of His remembrance spurred them to mock the believers. Each of the two reinforced the other. Can there be any audacity greater than this?
“Today I have rewarded them for their patient endurance”—their patience in obeying Me and bearing your abuse until they came to Me. “They are truly the triumphant,” attaining lasting bliss and deliverance from Hellfire. As He says in another verse: “So Today those who believed will laugh at the unbelievers,” and the verses that follow.
“He will say” to them by way of blame, rebuking them for their foolish judgment: during this brief span they acquired every evil that brought them to His anger and punishment, yet they failed to acquire [any] of the good that the believers acquired, which would have brought them everlasting happiness and their Lord’s pleasure.
“How many years did you remain on earth? They will say, ‘We remained for a day or part of a day.’” Their reply arose from their perception that their time in this world had been extremely brief. It conveys that brevity, but neither discloses nor specifies the exact duration. They therefore say: “Ask those who keep count,” meaning those who accurately recorded its number. As for them, they are consumed by an overwhelming preoccupation and a bewildering torment that prevents them from knowing its count. He will therefore say to them: “You remained only a little,” whether or not you can specify its number, “if only you had known.”