Tafseer of The Spider · Al-Ankaboot · 29:53
And they urge you to hasten the punishment. And if not for [the decree of] a specified term, punishment would have reached them. But it will surely come to them suddenly while they perceive not.
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.
The explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَوْلَا أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى لَجَاءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ("And they ask you to hasten the punishment; and were it not for a fixed term, the punishment would surely have come to them. And it will surely come upon them suddenly, while they do not perceive it") (29:53).
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: and they ask you to hasten the punishment, O Muḥammad — those speakers among your people, who say: "If only a sign from his Lord had been sent down to him" with the punishment, and who say: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ ("O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky"). And were it not for a term which I have fixed for them — so that I do not destroy them until they complete it and reach it — then the punishment would have befallen them at once. And His statement: وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ("And it will surely come upon them suddenly, while they do not perceive it"), He says: and the punishment will come upon them suddenly, while before its coming they do not perceive the time of its coming.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of taʾwīl (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ ("And they ask you to hasten the punishment"). He said: some ignorant ones of this community said: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ("O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment"), the āya.
