(51–54) “If only you could see when they are stricken with terror! There will be no escape, and they will be seized from a nearby place. They will say, ‘We now believe in it,’ but how can they attain it from a place so far away? They had already rejected it before and made reckless claims about the unseen from a distant place. A barrier will be placed between them and what they desire, as was done to those like them before. They were indeed in disquieting doubt.”
Allah says, “If only you could see,” O Messenger—and anyone in your position—the condition of these deniers “when they are stricken with terror,” upon seeing the punishment and what the messengers had told them about, which they had denied, you would see a dreadful affair, a horrifying sight, an appalling condition, and extreme distress. That will occur when the punishment becomes due upon them.
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They will have no means of fleeing or escaping it. “And they will be seized from a nearby place”—that is, not far from the place of punishment. They will be seized and then hurled into the Fire.
“They will say” in that state, “‘We now believe’ in Allah and affirm what we formerly denied. But ‘how can they attain it’—that is, lay hold of faith—‘from a place so far away’?” A barrier will have been placed between them and faith, and attaining it will have become impossible in that state. Had they believed while they still could, their faith would have been accepted. “But they had already rejected it before and made reckless claims about the unseen from a distant place,” hurling their falsehood in an attempt to refute the truth. Yet they had no means of doing so, just as an archer shooting from a distant place has no means of hitting the target. Likewise, it is impossible for falsehood to overcome or repel the truth. Falsehood enjoys a momentary ascendancy only when truth pays it no heed; but when truth emerges and confronts falsehood, it crushes it.
“A barrier will be placed between them and what they desire” of appetites, pleasures, children, wealth, servants, and armies. They will be left alone with their deeds and will come singly, just as they were created, leaving behind them everything they had been given. This will occur “as was done to those like them” among the former nations: when destruction overtook them, a barrier was placed between them and what they desired. “They were indeed in disquieting doubt”—that is, doubt that gave rise to misgivings and unease in their hearts. Therefore, they neither believed nor turned back when called to repent.
The commentary on Sūrat Saba’ is complete. To Allah belong all praise, gracious favor, and bounty. From Him comes aid, upon Him we rely, and in Him we place our trust.
Commentary on Sūrat Fātir—a Makkan surah