Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:47

"And they urge you to hasten the punishment, and Allah will never fail in His promise..."

He denies their haste for the threatened punishment, whether immediate or delayed, as if he were saying: Why do they hasten it? As if they deem its escape possible. Such a thing is only possible regarding the promise of one who might break it, but Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He—does not break His promise. What He has promised will surely befall them, even if after a while.

He—Glory be to Him—is Forbearing and does not hasten. Among His forbearance, His dignity, and His viewing long periods as short is that a single day with Him is like a thousand years of your counting.

It is said: The meaning is, how can they hasten the punishment of One whose single day of punishment is equivalent to a thousand years of your years? This is because days of hardship are perceived as long. Or, it is as if that single day, due to the intensity of its torment, is like a thousand years of ordinary years of punishment.

It is also said: Allah will never fail in His promise regarding the respite and delay He grants.

It is recited: ta‘uddūn (you count) with both the tā’ and the yā’.

Then He says: "And how many a city have I given respite to, while it was committing wrong, then I seized it; and to Me is the [final] destination."

If you ask: Why was the first [verse] connected with fa (so/then) and this one with wāw (and)?

I say: The first occurred as a substitute for His saying: "And how [terrible] was My reproach?" As for this one, its ruling is the same as the two sentences preceding it that are connected with wāw, namely His saying: "And Allah will never fail in His promise, and indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years..."

"Say, 'O mankind, I am only a clear warner to you.' So those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against Our verses, seeking to cause failure—those are the companions of Hellfire."