Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:40

"Nay, it will come upon them suddenly..."

This is a conjunction to [the clause] "they do not cease [in their rejection]." Ibn Atiyyah claimed that it is an istidrak (correction/reversion) for an implied statement preceding it, in which there is negation, and the intended meaning is: The signs do not come according to their suggestions; rather, they come upon them suddenly.

It has also been said that it is an istidrak regarding His saying: "If those who disbelieved but knew..." and the like; for it is negated in meaning, as if it were said: They do not know that, rather it will come upon them, etc. The distance between this and what Ibn Atiyyah claimed is like the distance between the heaven and the earth.

The pronoun in "it will come upon them" (ta'tihim) refers to "the promise" (al-wa'd), interpreted as the appointed time (al-'iddah) or the promised event (al-maw'idah); or it refers to "the time" (al-heen), interpreted as the Hour; or it refers to "the Fire," as al-Bahr [al-Muhit] suggests.

"Suddenly" (baghtatan), meaning unexpectedly, is a verbal noun (masdar) acting as a state (hal) or an absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq) for the verb "it will come upon them," being a verbal noun derived from a root other than that of the verb.

"So it will confound them" (fa-tabhatuhum) means it will startle them and cause them confusion, or it will overcome them—this being a metaphorical meaning.

Al-A'mash recited it as bal ya'tihim (with the letter ya denoting the third person) and baghtatan (with a fatha on the ghayn), which is a dialectal variation. It is said that this is permissible in every word whose middle letter is a guttural sound. He also recited fa-yabhatahum (with the letter ya denoting the third person). Thus, the hidden pronoun in both verbs refers to the "promise" or the "time," as al-Zamakhshari stated.

Abu al-Fadl al-Razi said: It is possible that it refers to the Fire, by treating it as synonymous with "the punishment."

"And they will not be able to turn it back" (fala yastati'una raddaha): The pronoun in the genitive case returns to that which the feminine pronoun returned to previously. It has also been said that it refers to the "suddenness," meaning they cannot turn the sudden occurrence away from themselves at all.

"Nor will they be granted respite" (wa la hum yunzaran): Meaning they will not be delayed to find relief, even for the blink of an eye. In this, there is a reminder of the respite they were granted in this world.