Tafsir of Yunus 10:46

Its origin is in narayannaka (if We show you), and the 'ma' is extra for the purpose of emphasizing the conditional meaning; hence, the verb is emphasized with the nun, and the seeing is ocular. That is, if We show you with your own eyes "some of that which We promise them"—meaning the punishment, by punishing them during your lifetime—"or We take you in death" before that, "unto Us is their return"—this is the response to the condition and what is conjoined to it.

The meaning is that their punishment in the Hereafter is fixed, whether they were punished in this world or not. It is also said that it is the response to "or We take you in death," as if it were said: "Or if We take you in death, unto Us is their return," so We will show it to you in the Hereafter. The response to the first [condition] is then omitted, meaning: "Or if We show you, then that is what is intended," or "what is desired," or something similar. Al-Tibi said: "Meaning, then that is the truth, the correct path, the reality, or the established fact." Abu Hayyan chose the first [view], and the objection raised against him—that the return does not follow from that showing, thus necessitating the commitment to the conditionality being coincidental—arises from negligence regarding the intended meaning.

The intended meaning of "We promise them" is "We have promised them," but it was shifted to the future tense to bring the image to mind, or to signify renewal and continuity—meaning We promise them repeatedly, as required by wisdom, warning after warning.

Regarding the specification of "some" in the mention, it is said that it is a symbol that the promise is to show them a portion of what was promised. He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was indeed shown that on the day of Badr.

Meaning, the evil deeds that were narrated about them. The intent of "witnessing" here is its metaphorical consequence, which is punishment and recompense; as if it were said: "Then Allah the Exalted is punishing them for what they do." It is also permissible that the intent is [the act of] establishing and presenting the testimony by making the limbs speak. Otherwise, Allah’s—glorified be He—witnessing in the sense of His being the Watcher and Preserver is an eternal matter in both abodes, and "then" (thumma) would not be suitable for that.

It is apparent that it [the particle thumma] is taken according to its literal meaning in these two views. In al-Kashf and elsewhere, regarding the first [view], it is for conceptual sequence (al-tarakhi al-rutbi), and regarding the second, it is for literal sequence. The words of some suggest approving its interpretation as conceptual sequence absolutely, but I see no justification for committing to the non-literal after that commitment, and that the conjunction by it is upon the consequence, not upon the entirety of the conditional clause. You know that conjunction upon that [consequence] prevents the intent of "punishment" or "showing" or anything similar from it, which would not be correct for the meaning conjoined by thumma to follow after. Perhaps what they considered there is not an interpretation of the "return," but rather an explanation of the purpose of the speech.

The manifestation of the Name of Majesty [Allah] is for the sake of introducing awe, cultivating reverence, and emphasizing the threat. Ibn Abi ‘Abla recited it as thamma (with a fathah), meaning "there."