Tafsir of Saba' 34:30

Surah Saba' (34): Verse 30

{Say: "For you is a promised time, a Day from which you cannot delay a single hour, nor can you bring it forward."}

We have previously mentioned in Surah Al-A'raf that the phrase {you cannot delay} implies a warning, as it means there will be no respite beyond the appointed term.

But what is the meaning of {nor can you bring it forward}? We mentioned its rationale there, and we will mention here that since they demanded haste, it is clarified that there will be no hastening, just as there will be no delay. This signifies the gravity and seriousness of the matter. This is because if a trivial matter is requested by someone from another, it is neither delayed nor postponed to a specific time, unlike a grave matter.

Regarding the Almighty's saying: {For you is a promised time (Mīʿād) a Day}, there are different readings:

1. Nominative Case (Rafʿ): Both Mīʿād and Yawm are in the nominative case with Mīʿād being indefinite (tanwīn). In this reading, Yawm is a substitute (badal) for Mīʿād.
2. Accusative Case (Nasb) for Yawm: Mīʿād is in the nominative case, while Yawm is in the accusative case, both indefinite: {Mīʿād Yawman}. Al-Zamakhshari explained that the accusative case for Yawm is due to an omitted verb, as if saying: "Your promised time, meaning a Day (Mīʿād I mean Yawman)." This usage conveys magnification and terror. It is also possible that it is accusative of adverbial time (ẓarf), meaning: "For you is a promised time, [lasting] a Day (Mīʿād Yawman)," similar to saying, "I will come to you a Day (Yawman)." Under this interpretation, the governing factor is the known nature of the time, as if saying: "For you is a promised time that you know, [which is] a Day (Mīʿād taʿlamūnahu Yawman)." The subsequent mention of {a known Day} supports this.
3. Construct State (Iḍāfah): {Mīʿād Yawmi} (The promised time of the Day), similar to the saying: Saḥaq thawb (a tearing of a garment) used for clarification.

Attributing the action to them by saying {you cannot delay} instead of saying {it will not be delayed from you} serves as an additional emphasis on the certainty of the Day's occurrence.

{And those who disbelieved say, "We will not believe in this Qur'an nor in that which is before it." But if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, some of them casting blame upon others. Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant, "If it had not been for you, we would have been believers."}