Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:44

"Nay, We gave these [people] and their fathers enjoyment until the life was prolonged for them..."

This is an idrab (a shift or turning away) from the previous discourse regarding their threats, indicating that they are among those whom Allah is gradually leading to destruction (istidraj). The transition from the second-person address to the third-person demonstrative pronoun indicates their contemptibility. In another commentary, it is suggested that it is an idrab from their false assumption that the protection they enjoy is due to their idols preventing harm from reaching them. It is as if it were said: "Leave aside what they claim about being protected by their idols; rather, the protection they are in is from Us alone." We protected them from harm and gave them enjoyment through various pleasures because they are among those destined for istidraj and are steeped in what leads them to painful punishment.

It is also possible that it is an idrab regarding what is indicated by the previous inception concerning the invalidity of their conjecture. It is as if it were said: "Leave aside what clarifies the invalidity of their conjecture that they have idols that protect them, and know that they have fallen into the snare of that false conjecture because We granted them enjoyment of what they desire until their bodily lifespan was prolonged." Consequently, they thought this would last, became deluded, turned away from the truth, and followed what their souls enticed them to believe—and that is an empty greed and a false hope.

"Do they not see..." i.e., do they not look and therefore perceive? "That We come to the land..." i.e., the land of the disbelievers, or their own land, "reducing it from its fringes" by granting the Muslims dominion over it and seizing what they seize of it, incorporating it into the sphere of their sovereignty. The shift from "We reduce the land from its fringes" to the structure in the Majestic Order serves to depict the manner of its reduction and its extraction from their hands, which occurs through the arrival and conquest of the Muslim armies. The original intended meaning would have been "the armies of the Muslims come," but the arrival was attributed to Him, Exalted be He, as an exaltation of the armies and an indication that it occurs by His divine power and approval. In this, there is also an exaltation of Jihad and the Mujahidin.

As we stated at the beginning of the Surah, this verse is Madani and was revealed after the obligation of Jihad. Therefore, the objection that the Surah is Makki—and that Jihad was obligated afterward, necessitating that this be an account of the future—is invalid. Or, it may be said that the meaning is "We reduce it by removing its blessings," as narrated in a report from Ibn Abbas, or "by ruining its villages and the death of its inhabitants," as narrated from Ikrimah. It has also been said that we reduce it by the death of the scholars. If this is authentically narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, then there is no turning away from it; otherwise, the most apparent meaning, given the context, is what has preceded, which is supported by His saying:

"Are they the victors?"

Over the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the believers? The intent is to deny that victory follows what was mentioned regarding the reduction of the disbelievers' land by empowering the believers over it. It is as if it were said: "After the appearance of what has been mentioned and their seeing it, do they still imagine they will be victorious?" The use of the definite article [in "the victors"] serves as an insinuation that the Muslims are the specific ones designated for victory and are known for it.