Tafsir of Yunus 10:48

"And they say: 'When will this promise be, if you are truthful?'" (48)

This is based on the apparent meaning that the promise they alluded to is the worldly torment that was threatened, as indicated by what follows.

A difficulty has been raised regarding what the literal sense of the verse implies—namely, that Allah the Exalted has never neglected any nation at all, but rather sent a messenger to every one of them—because it is known that the people of the fatrah (interval/interim period) did not have a messenger, as testified to by His saying, the Glorified: "To warn a people whose forefathers were not warned."

It has been answered that the generality of the verse does not require the messenger to be present with every nation at every moment; for his preceding some of them does not prevent him from being a messenger to those among them, just as the precedence of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) does not prevent him from being sent to us until the end of eternity. The most that can be said on this matter is that the confusion which occurred among the people during the interval period led to a weakening of the effect of the call of the prophets (peace be upon them). This [explanation] is as you see.

It may also be said: The intent by "every nation" is every group that Allah the Exalted willed to burden with obligation, according to what His knowledge has preceded, or every group in which He, the Glorified, willed to execute His decree, or other such qualifiers that prevent the judgment from being void—not every group of humans absolutely. Thus, there is no difficulty at all, so contemplate this.

Furthermore, this statement from the deniers is a hastening of what they were promised. Their purpose in it, as has been said, is to express the improbability of the promised event, implying that it is something that will not happen. Sometimes, the intent behind the interrogation is primarily to express this improbability, since the context requires it and there is no impediment to it. The claim that this only occurs with interrogatives like "where" and "how" rather than "when" is not accepted; how could it be, when it is a figurative meaning, and there is no restriction on figurative usage?

The address is directed at the Master of those addressed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers who recite to them the verses containing that [threat]. The conclusion of the conditional "if" is omitted, relying on what preceded it—meaning: if you are truthful that it will come to us, then let it come to us immediately. Because he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the intermediary in the arrival of that, and from him the warning originated—not from the believers—he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was commanded to provide the answer with the words of Him, the Glorified: [Proceeding to the next verse].