An-Nur: (49) "But if the right is theirs..."

"But if the right is theirs" (meaning, not against them, as is indicated by the precedence of the predicate), "they come to him" (that is, to the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) "submissively," meaning yielding, because they know that he—upon him be prayer and peace—will judge in their favor.

The apparent construction is that "to him" (ilayhi) relates to "they come" (ya'tu). It is also permissible that it relates to "submissively" (mudh'inin), interpreting it as having the sense of the preposition "li" (to/for), or based on the inclusion of the meaning of "hastening" within "submission." Al-Zajjaj interpreted it as hastening combined with obedience.

The precedence of the object [in the phrase "if the right is theirs"] is for the sake of exclusivity, or for the sake of the rhyming interval (the fasilah), or both. He used "if" (idha) in the preceding verses to indicate the certainty of the condition, whereas he used "if" (in) here to indicate the lack of its certainty, and in that, there is also a censure of them.