An-Naml: (37) "Return to them, for we will surely come to them..."

"Return" is a command addressed to the messenger. The pronoun is not in the plural form, unlike the preceding verse: "Will you provide me with wealth?", due to the fact that the act of returning pertains exclusively to him, unlike the act of providing support, which involves others. It has been said: It is a command to the Hoopoe, carrying another letter; Ibn Abi Hatim narrated this from Zuhayr ibn Zuhayr. This view is criticized as being weak in both narration and technical reasoning. Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud] read it as "Return [plural]" (irji'u), treating it as a command to the messengers. The verb here is intransitive (lazim), meaning turn back and depart.

"To them," that is, to Bilqis and her people.

"For we will surely come to them," meaning: By Allah, we will surely come to them, "with soldiers they have no power to face." This means they have no strength to resist them nor the capability to confront them. The root of al-qibal is "confrontation," which is here used metaphorically or as a metonymy for power and capacity. Abdullah read it as "with them" (bihim).

"And we will surely expel them from it," is a conjunction linked to the response of the oath.

"In humiliation," meaning in a state of being humiliated after the glory and establishment they previously enjoyed. The use of the plural form (the broken plural 'adhillah') emphasizes their humiliation.

His saying, "And they will be abased," is another circumstantial state (hal). Although al-sighar (abasement) is synonymous with dhull (humiliation), the intent here is their falling into captivity and enslavement. Thus, the discourse conveys that their expulsion shall be by way of captivity, not mere banishment.

The response to the oath did not occur because it was contingent upon a condition that was omitted in the narrative, relying on the context to signify it, as if it were said: "Return to them, and if they do not come to me as Muslims, then we will surely come to them..." etc.