Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:135

"Then, when We removed from them the scourge to a term which they were to reach": That is, to a limit of time which they were inevitably arriving at, and in which they would be punished or destroyed; this is the time of the drowning, as has been narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—or [it refers to] death, as has been narrated from al-Hasan. The intended meaning is that We saved them from the torment until that time. From this, it is correct for the terminal limit to be linked to the "removal," and there is no need to make the prepositional phrase (al-jar wa al-majrur) relate to an elided state (hal) of the "scourge," contrary to what some claim.

It has been said: The meaning of "the term" is what they had appointed for their belief.

"If they then broke [their promise]": That is, they violated the covenant. The origin of nakth (breaking/unraveling) is the untwisting of the strands of spun wool so that it may be spun again; thus, it is used metaphorically for breaking a covenant after it has been ratified. The answer (jawab) to "when" (lamma) is an elided verb indicated by "when" of suddenness (idha al-fuja'iyyah), not the clause associated with it—though if it were said to be the clause, it would be a loose usage. The meaning is: "When We removed that from them, they suddenly broke [the covenant] without hesitation or contemplation." This is what has been said, and based on this, both nouns—namely lamma and idha—are governed by that verb, with the former being its adverb of time and the latter its object.

The scholar [al-Allamah] said: The motive for this [interpretation] is to preserve their doctrine that what follows the word lamma of the two verbs must be past in wording or meaning. However, what is required by their statement—that idh and idha of suddenness occur in the position of the object for the verb they imply—is that the estimation should be "they surprised the time of the breaking or its place."

It may also be said: Estimating the verb is an affectation that is unnecessary, as they have explicitly stated that lamma is answered by idha of suddenness, which enters upon the nominal sentence. Indeed, they mention that which suggests an elided verb, but it is not such; rather, it is an explanation of the resulting meaning and an interpretation thereof. So, reflect upon this.