Tafseer Ibn Kathir of SABA' [51]

51. And if you could but see, when they will be terrified with no escape, and they will be seized from a near place. 52. And they will say: ”We do believe (now);'' but how could they receive (Tanawush) from a place so far off. 53. Indeed they did disbelieve before (in this world), and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen, from a far place. 54. And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire, as was done in the past with the people of their kind. Verily, they have been in grave doubt.) Here Allah says: `if only you could see, O Muhammad, when these deniers are terrified on the Day of Resurrection, and they have no way of escape and nowhere to run to and no refuge.'

(and they will be seized from a near place.) means, they will not even be given the slightest chance of escape, but they will be seized from the first instant. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: ”When they come forth from their graves.''

(And they will say: ”We do believe (now);'') means, on the Day of Resurrection, they will say, `we believe in Allah and His angels, Books and Messengers.' This is like the Ayah:

(And if you only could see when the criminals shall hang their heads before their Lord (saying): ”Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back that we will do righteous good deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.'') (32:12) Allah says:

(but how could they receive from a place so far off) meaning, how could they attain faith now that they are so far removed from the place where it could be accepted from them, and they have entered the realm of the Hereafter which is the realm of reward and punishment, not the realm of trial and testing If they had believed in this world, that would have been good for them, but now they have entered the Hereafter, there is no way that their faith can be accepted, just as there is no way a person can get a thing if he is far away from it. Mujahid said:

but how could they At-Tana0wushØŸ means, How could they attain thatØŸ Az-Zuhri said, They will wish to attain faith when they have reached the Hereafter and are cut off from this world. Al-HÙ„asan Al-BasÙ„ri said, They will seek something when they have no way of attaining it, they will seek faith from a distant place.

Indeed they did disbelieve before, means, how can they attain faith in the Hereafter when in this world they disbelieved in the truth and denied the MessengersØŸ

(and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen from a far place. ) Malik narrated from Zayd bin Aslam that he said:

(and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen,) means, ”By guessing.'' as Allah says,

guessing at the Unseen )18:22(. Sometimes they said he was a poet, sometimes they said he was a soothsayer, or a sorcerer, or a mad man, or other baseless comments. They denied the idea of resurrection and said:

(we do not think it but as a conjecture, and we have no firm convincing belief.) (45:32). Qatadah and Mujahid said, ”Their belief that there would be no resurrection, no Paradise and no Hell was based on mere conjecture.''

(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire,) Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ad-Dahhak and others, `This means faith.'' As-Suddi said:

(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire, ) means ”Repentance.'' This was also the view of Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him. Mujahid said:

(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire,) means, ”This world and its wealth, luxuries and people.'' Something similar was narrated from Ibn `Umar, Ibn `Abbas and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. It is also the opinion of Al-Bukhari and the Group. The correct view is that there is no contradiction between the two views, for a barrier will be set between them and what they desire in this world, and what they seek in the Hereafter will be denied from them.

(as was done in the past with the people of their kind.) means, as happened to the nations of the past who disbelieved in the Messengers; when the punishment of Allah came upon them, they wished that they had believed, but this was not accepted from them.

(So, when they saw Our punishment, they said: ”We believe in Allah Alone and reject (all) that we used to associate with Him as (His) partners. ”Then their faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allah in dealing with His servants. And there the disbelievers lost utterly.) (40:84-85).

Verily, they have been in grave doubt. means, in this world they had doubts, so their faith will not be accepted from them when they behold the punishment with their own eyes. Qata0dah said, Beware of doubt. For whoever dies doubting, will be raised doubtingØ› and whoever dies believing, with certainty will be raised believing with certainty. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Saba'. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Guide to the right way.