As-Saffat: (20) And they said, "Woe to us!"...

(And they said), meaning the resurrected ones; the past tense is used to denote the certainty of its occurrence. (Woe to us), meaning: "O our destruction, come forth, for this is the time of your presence." (This is the Day of Recompense).

This is an initiation from them to explain their invocation of woe. Din (Recompense) here means retribution, as in the saying: "As you judge, you shall be judged," meaning: "This is the day in which we are recompensed for our deeds." They only knew this because they used to hear in the world that they would be resurrected, held to account, and recompensed for their deeds. Once they witnessed the resurrection, they became certain of what follows it as well.

And His statement, the Exalted: