Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:44
And, [O Muhammad], warn the people of a Day when the punishment will come to them and those who did wrong will say, "Our Lord, delay us for a short term; we will answer Your call and follow the messengers." [But it will be said], "Had you not sworn, before, that for you there would be no cessation?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted be His mention, says: Warn, O Muḥammad, the people to whom I have sent you as a caller to Islam, of what will befall them, on the day when the punishment of Allah will reach them on the Day of Resurrection. فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا — He says: Then those who had disbelieved in their Lord, and had thereby wronged themselves, will say: رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا — that is to say: defer Your punishment and grant us respite, إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ — the rightful one, so that we may believe in You and associate nothing with You, وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ — they say: and we acknowledge Your messengers and follow them in that to which You had called us, of obedience to You and observance of Your command.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ — he said: the Day of Resurrection. فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ — he said: a term during which they would act in the world.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ — he said: warn them in this world before the punishment reaches them.
His word فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا stands in the nominative as a connection to يَأْتِيهِمُ in His word يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ , and is not the response to the imperative clause. Had it been the response to وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ , then both the nominative and the accusative would be permissible. The accusative is as in the verse of the poet:
يَا نَاقَ سِيرِي عَنَقًا فَسِيحَا — إِلَى سُلَيْمَانَ فَنَسْتَرِيحَا
The nominative is based on a new sentence. It is related of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Siyāba that he rejected the accusative as a response to a command with fāʾ. Al-Farrāʾ said: al-ʿAlāʾ was the one who had taught Muʿādh and his companions.
