But those who were given knowledge and faith will say, "You remained the extent of Allāh's decree until the Day of Resurrection, and this is the Day of Resurrection, but you did not used to know."
The Ignorance of the Disbelievers in this World and in the Hereafter
Here Allah tells us of the ignorance of the disbelievers in this world and in the Hereafter. In this world they worship idols, and in the Hereafter they will also display great ignorance. They will swear by Allah that they did not even stay for one hour in this world. They will mean that there was not enough time given to establish proof against them which would leave them with no excuse. Allah says:
(thus were they ever deluded. And those who have been bestowed with knowledge and Faith will say: "Indeed you have stayed according to the decree of Allah, until the Day of Resurrection...") The believers who have knowledge of the Hereafter will respond to them, just as they established the proof of Allah against them in this world. When they swear that they did not stay even one hour in this world, they will say to them:
After this, the falsehood and ignorance of the deniers of the Dooms Day is mentioned وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يُقْسِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ مَا لَبِثُوا غَيْرَ سَاعَةٍ that is, ‘When the Dooms Day will come, these deniers of the Dooms Day will start swearing by losing senses after looking at the horrid scenes, that their stay was not more than one hour'. It is probable that the stay referred to here is the stay in this world, because they spent the time in this world in comfort and ease. And when they will encounter troubles in the Hereafter, they, by way of a natural habit of man to regard the comfortable period of his life very short, will swear that they lived in the world hardly for one hour.
When a man treads the path of Truth, he has frequently to face great difficulties, as happened with the Prophet and his companions in the early days. But, in that case, there was no question of anybody being disappointed. God is so merciful that, when a field under cultivation needs water, He moves the universal system and waters it. Naturally, He will certainly help those who tread His path. However, this help will be forthcoming only according to God’s plan. So, if there is some delay in the process, man should not be disappointed or disheartened. The word of God is very clear and reasonable. But only those who study things in depth, who listen carefully, whose nature it is to accept things that address their mind, who adopt the path which they find to be right, will repose their faith in the word of God.
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
