{ وما ينظر هؤلاء إلا صيحة واحدة ما لها من فواق }

This is the commencement of explaining the punishment of the disbelievers of Mecca, following the explanation of the punishment of those who preceded them, for the previous discourse is of the nature that necessitates the listener’s anticipation of its clarification. "Looking" (nazar) is used here in the sense of "waiting" (intizar), and it is employed metaphorically by rendering an event certain to occur as if it were something awaited by them. The indication by "these" (hå'ulå') is for the purpose of belittling them.

The intended meaning of the "single blast" (sayhah) is the second blowing of the Trumpet. That is: these wretched disbelievers, who are like those destroyed nations in their disbelief and denial, await nothing but the second blast, which brings about the Hour. This was stated by Qatadah. It does not mean that the blast itself is their punishment—for it is universal, encompassing both the righteous and the wicked of all nations—rather, the meaning is that there is nothing between them and the punishment prepared for them but this blast. Their punishment was delayed until the Hereafter because punishing them by total annihilation, as they deserve, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was present, would be outside the Divine custom established upon manifest wisdom, as expressed by His saying: "And Allah would not punish them while you are among them." For the meaning of "while you are among them" is his actual presence (peace and blessings be upon him), not merely his residing near them, as some have erroneously supposed—a view which would render the verse incapable of proving the impossibility of such annihilation after the Migration, contradicting the well-known interpretation.

It has been said that the "blast" mentioned is the first blowing of the Trumpet, but this has been refuted on the basis that there is no validity to it at all; for it is not something he [the disbeliever] witnesses, nor does anyone faint from it except those who are alive at its occurrence. Furthermore, the promised punishment is not what follows that blast, nor is the absolute punishment delayed until it; rather, it befalls them from the moment of their death.

Others have said it refers to a blast by which they perish in this world, just as the people of Thamud perished. It is not hidden that this constitutes punishment by annihilation, which, as you have heard, does not occur [during the presence of the Prophet], and thus it cannot be something "awaited."

Abu Hayyan said: "The blast" refers to what reached them of killing, captivity, and defeat, as one says, "Time shouted (saha) at them," making it a metaphor for evil, as in their saying: "They await nothing but the like of the pregnant woman’s labor pains," meaning an evil that hastens upon them. There is a remoteness in this interpretation.

It is permissible to consider "these" as referring to the [Confederate] parties (al-ahzab). Since they had been mentioned repeatedly and emphatically, the one being addressed has them present in his mind; thus, the mental image is treated as a tangible, external one, and they are pointed to with the indicator used for one who is present and witnessed. The possibility of belittlement remains, and it does not clash with the expression "those" (ula'ika), as the distance is factual, and it may also be used to signify belittlement. The discourse explains the punishment they will face in the Hereafter after the torment that befell them in this world. They are deemed as awaiting it because the punishment of annihilation that struck them is not the result of the ugly deeds they committed—for those are of no account compared to the horrors that exist there. Thus, it is a warning to the disbelievers of Quraysh and an intimidation to those to whom the discourse is directed.

Consequently, there is no merit in what Abu as-Sa'ud said—that this is not a matter of possibility at all—because waiting, whether it be literal or ironic, is only conceivable for one whose deeds have not yet yielded their final consequences. After the punishment of the Confederate parties and their total annihilation had been described, nothing of their intended punishments remained to be awaited, unlike the disbelievers of Quraysh, who had committed what they committed but had not yet encountered the [final] outcome. This was stated by al-Khafaji. It is not hidden that the interpretation which comes to mind is the first, which is the one transmitted from the predecessors.

Fawaq is the interval between the two squeezes of the milker and the two suckles of the suckler. The milk that gathers in the udder between two milkings is called faiqah, and it is pluralized as afwaq and afawiq (a plural of the plural). The discourse is based on the ellipsis of two genitives: "They await nothing but a single blast that has no pause [of the duration of] a fawaq." Or, it may be based on the mention of the necessary cause (malzum), which is the fawaq, while intending the effect (lazim), which is the pause of that duration; this is a well-known metaphor. The meaning is that when the time for the blast arrives, it will not be delayed by this amount of time.

From Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah, it is interpreted as "returning" or "repeating." This is a metaphor in which the cause is used to denote the effect, for during the time between two milkings, the milk returns to the udder. The meaning is that it is a single blast only, not doubled or repeated. Thus, the sentence, according to them, is an emphatic description of the singleness of the blast.

Al-Sulami, Ibn Wathab, al-A'mash, Hamzah, al-Kisa'i, and Talhah read it with a dammah on the fa (fuwaq). It is said that both are of the same meaning, referring to what has preceded, like the "qisas" (hair-cutting) and "qusas." It is also said that the version with the fatha is a verbal noun from "the sick person recovered (afaqah)... when he returns to health," and to this returns the interpretation of Ibn Zayd, al-Suddi, Abu Ubaydah, and al-Farra, who defined it as recovery and rest. The version with the dammah is the name of the time during which the milk returns to the udder.