Tafseer of Mary · Maryam · 19:84
So be not impatient over them. We only count out to them a [limited] number.
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.
His statement: فَلَا تَعْجَلْ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدًّا ("So do not be in haste against them; We only count out for them a counting") — Allah, the Mighty, the Exalted, says: Do not be in haste, O Muḥammad, against these unbelievers (kāfirīn) by desiring punishment and ruin for them. إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدًّا — that is to say: We only defer their destruction so that they may load more sins upon themselves; We count all their deeds and record them — down to their very breaths — in order to requite them for each of them. We have not refrained from hastening their ruin in order to intend some good that We bestow upon them.
In accordance with what we have said about this spoke also the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl).
Mention of those who said this:
ʿAlī related to us — he said: ʿAbd Allāh related to us — he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: إِنَّمَا نَعُدُّ لَهُمْ عَدًّا — he said: "Their breaths which they breathe in the worldly life; these are counted, as are their years and their appointed lifespan."
