Tafsir of Maryam 19:84

"So do not be hasty against them"

By wishing for their destruction in accordance with what their crimes demand, that they be wiped out to the last of them, and that the earth be cleansed of their impurities. The Fa (So) serves to indicate that what precedes it is a likely occasion for the forbidden action, necessitating the prohibition, as in His saying, Exalted is He: "Indeed, this is an enemy to you and to your wife, so do not let him drive you both out of Paradise."

"We only count for them a counting"

This is the justification for the reason behind the prohibition, by demonstrating the proximity of their destruction; for there remain for them only days and breaths that We are counting—a counting—meaning: few, just as it was said regarding His saying, Exalted is He: "For a limited number of dirhams." This does not contradict what has passed regarding Him granting respite to those in misguidance—meaning He prolongs—for that is according to the apparent state as they see it, while it is little when considering its outcome and in the sight of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic.

It is also said that the justification mentioned indicates that their breaths and days will end with the conclusion of the count, and there is no doubt that, despite their abundance, they can be fully enumerated in a single hour. Thus, this phrase is used to express scarcity; as if it were said: "There is nothing between you and their destruction except limited days and numbered breaths, which are, in the speed of their expiration, as if they were an hour that could be counted if it were to be counted." This is not based on the premise that everything which is counted is necessarily small.

The first interpretation is the more apparent, while the latter is deeper in meaning. It is reported from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—that when he recited this verse, he would weep and say: "The end of the count is the departure of your soul; the end of the count is the parting from your family; the end of the count is your entry into your grave."

It is reported that Ibn al-Sammak was once in the presence of al-Ma’mun, and when he recited this verse, he said: "If breaths are by count and have no extension, how quickly they must expire!" Excellent is the one who said:

The beloved is snatched away from the lovers, Neither gatekeepers nor guards can prevent death. And how can a youth rejoice in the world and its pleasures, When his words and his very breaths are being counted against him?

It is also said that the meaning is: "We only count their deeds in order to requite them for them."