Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:51

(He said, "What then is the state of the former generations?")

When the accursed one witnessed the luminous proof that he—peace be upon him—had arranged into the thread of his response, in a magnificent manner, he feared that the truth of his—peace be upon him—statements and the falsehood of his own superstitions would become manifest to the people with clarity. He intended to divert him—peace be upon him—from his path toward matters that did not concern him, which in reality had no connection to the Message, by way of stories, while feigning that they did have a connection to it. He sought to occupy him with what he was not focused on, hoping that some form of negligence might appear in him, so that he could thereby descend to claiming a form of knowledge before his people.

Thus, he said: "(What then is the state...)" and so forth. The origin of al-bāl (the state/mind) is thought; it is said: "Such and such crossed my mind." Then it was applied to the condition that is of concern, which is the intended meaning here. It is neither dualized nor pluralized except as an anomaly, in their saying bālāt. The fa (then) is for grounding what follows it upon the claim of the Message, meaning: "If you are a Messenger, then inform me: what is the state of the past generations and the bygone nations, and what detailed events transpired among them?"