Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:24

"Until, when they see what they are promised, then they will know who is weaker in helpers and fewer in number." This is a conditional sentence conjoined with the hatta (until) of initiation. Even though it is not a preposition here, it carries the sense of an ultimate end (ghayah). Its dependent clause is the limit for an elided [preceding] statement, which is indicated by the context of the disbelievers’ belittlement of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) supporters and their dismissal of his small numbers. It is as if it were said: "They shall continue to belittle and mock until, when they see what they have been promised of the various forms of torment in the Hereafter, it will become clear to them which [side] is the weaker."

The response to the condition (jawab al-shart) points to this, as does the opinion stated [by others]. Indeed, His saying, "Say, 'I only call upon my Lord...'" serves as an allusion to the polytheists, regardless of how it is interpreted. In fact, the noble Surah, from its very beginning, is driven by the intent to expose the state of the polytheists of Mecca, to console the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to ease his heart, and to condemn them for their short-sightedness regarding the Jinn—despite their claims of shrewdness—and their lack of fairness, as they hastened to deny and mock [the Prophet] instead of hastening, as the Jinn did, to believe and listen.

It is permissible to consider this [verse] as the limit (ghayah) for His saying, "They would swarm around him in crowds," if it is interpreted as swarming in hostility. There is no obstacle to having unrelated matters intervene between the limit and that which is limited. Thus, the statement of Abu Hayyan—that it is highly far-fetched due to the lengthy separation between them by numerous sentences—is of no consequence.

It is also possible to consider it the limit for what the preceding sentence implies; namely, [the verse] "Indeed, for him is the fire of Hell," [implying] the judgment that the Fire is his destiny. Similar to this is the view that it is a limit for an elided phrase, the estimation being: "Leave them until, when they see what they are promised," and so on.

The apparent meaning is that "who" (man) is interrogative, as we have indicated, functioning as a subject (mubtada') with "weaker" (ad'af) as the predicate (khabar). The sentence occupies the position of an object to the verb preceding it, which has been suspended from acting [directly] on the interrogative clause. It is also permissible for it to be relative (mawsulah) in the accusative position of "they will know," with "weaker" being the predicate of an elided subject, and the sentence being a conjunction (silah) for "who." The estimation would then be "they will know [the one] who is weaker." The omission of the beginning of the conjunction clause (sadr al-silah) is made acceptable by its length [due to the inclusion of] the specification (tamyiz).

It is also permissible to interpret "what they are promised" as referring to the Day of Badr, though the first [interpretation] is preferred, because the apparent meaning of His saying...