Tafsir of Sad 38:16

(And they said, "Our Lord, hasten for us our portion before the Day of Account.")

This is a recounting of what they said upon hearing that their punishment would be delayed until the Hereafter. That is, they said—by way of mockery and ridicule—"Our Lord, hasten for us our share and our portion of the torment with which You have threatened us, and do not delay it until the Day of Account," the beginning of which is the aforementioned Blast. They began their supplication with the aforementioned call to emphasize the mockery, as if they were requesting it with complete desire and entreaty.

The speaker, according to what is narrated from ‘Ata, was An-Nadr ibn al-Harith ibn ‘Alqama ibn Kalada—the one about whom Allah the Exalted said: “A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen.” According to what is narrated from Qatada, it was Abu Jahl. Based on both opinions, the rest [of the disbelievers] were in agreement; hence, the plural pronoun was used.

Al-Qitt (the portion) is a piece of something, derived from qata‘ahu (he cut it). A written award or certificate is called a qitt because it is a piece of parchment. From this is the saying of al-A’sha: "Nor King An-Nu‘man, the day I met him, in his bounty, giving out the qittut (certificates)." It is also used to refer to a book of deeds, and it is said to be more common in that usage. Abu al-‘Aliyah and al-Kalbi interpreted it in this way here, meaning: "Hasten for us our scroll of deeds so that we may look into it." This is also a narration from al-Hasan.

It came in another narration from him that they meant their share of Paradise. This is also narrated from Qatada and Ibn Jubayr; that is, they heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) mentioning the promise of Allah the Exalted of Paradise to the believers, so they said by way of mockery: "Hasten for us our share of it so that we may follow them in this world."

As-Samarqandi said: The strongest of the interpretations is that they asked for the blessings that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to promise, based on their saying "Our Lord." If it were, as the exegetes suggest, a mockery asking for punishment or a book [of deeds], they would have asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) directly and would not have asked their Lord. In this, there is a point of contention that is understood from what has passed earlier.

(So be patient over what they say) regarding what is renewed of such false and harmful statements.