Tafsir of Al-Ma'aarij 70:6

Surah Al-Ma'arij (The Ascending Stairways): Verse 6

إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُ بَعِيدًا

Indeed, they see it as distant.

Regarding the pronoun in {يَرَوْنَهُ} (they see it), to what does it refer?

There are two interpretations:

1. It refers to the punishment (the torment) that will occur.
2. It refers to the Day mentioned previously: {يَوْمًا كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ} (A Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years) (Al-Ma'arij: 4).

In this second view, they deem it distant in the sense of impossibility or incredulity.

{وَنَحْنُ نَرَاهُ قَرِيبًا}

But We see it as near.

We see it as near in the scope of Our power, not distant from Us, nor impossible. Therefore, "distant" (بَعِيدًا) means distant from possibility, and "near" (قَرِيبًا) means close to possibility.

Surah Al-Ma'arij: Verses 7–10

{يَوْمَ تَكُونُ السَّمَاءُ كَالْمُهْلِ * وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ * وَلَا يَسْأَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا}