Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:183
And I will give them time. Indeed, my plan is firm.
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 word: وَأُمْلِي لَهُمْ إِنَّ كَيْدِي مَتِينٌ ("And I grant them respite; indeed, My scheme is firm") (7:183).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And I grant respite to these who have denied Our signs as lies. [The root meaning of "al-imlāʾ" goes back to their expression: "a long time (milīy) passed over him," and "milāwa," "mulāwa"], and "malāwa" — with kasra, ḍamma, and fatḥa — "of time," that is to say: an age. From this one also says: "I have waited for you a long while (malīyan)."
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— so that, through their disobedience toward their Lord, they may reach the measure which He has decreed for them of requital and punishment (ʿadhāb), and then He takes them unto Himself.
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إِنَّ كَيْدِي ("Indeed, My scheme").
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And "al-kayd" (the scheme) means: the devised plan, the cunning (al-makr).
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And His word: مَتِينٌ ("firm") means: strong, mighty. From this is also the saying of the poet: [They turned aside as people turn aside, and most foully] he tries various forms of an enduring, persistent pursuit (mumātin), that is to say: a mighty course that endures and does not cease.