Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:39

{قليل} (A little while): An adjective describing time, similar to qadim (old) and hadith (new) in your saying: "I have not seen him for a long time (qadiman) nor a short time (hadithan)." Its meaning is: "in a short while."

{ما} (Indeed/A little): Used to emphasize the brevity and shortness of the duration.

{الصيحة} (The Blast): The cry of Gabriel, peace be upon him; he cried out against them, and it destroyed them.

{بالحق} (In truth): Meaning "by necessity," because they had become deserving of destruction. Or, it means "with justice from God," as in your saying: "So-and-so judges with truth," when he is just in his judgments.

{غثاء} (Scum/Driftwood): He likened them in their destruction to ghutha', which is the debris carried by a flood—that which has decayed and blackened from twigs and leaves. From this is the Almighty’s saying: "And made it dark stubble (ghutha'an ahwa)" (Al-A'la: 5). It has also appeared with a shadda (doubled letter) in the saying of Imru' al-Qays:

From the flood and the scum, like the whorl of a spindle.

{بعدا وسحقا} (Away with/Perish): These are verbal nouns (masadir) placed in the position of their verbs. They belong to the category of verbal nouns which Sibawayh said are in the accusative case due to verbs whose explicit mention is not used. The meaning of bu'dan is "they have been distanced," meaning: they have perished. It is said: ba'uda bu'dan and bu'dan, similar to rashada rushdan and rashdan.

{للقوم الظالمين} (For the wrongdoing people): An explanation of who is being cursed with distance, similar to the construction in: "Come here (hayta laka)" (Yusuf: 23) and "for what you are promised (lima tu'adun)" (Al-Mu'minun: 36).

{Then We brought into existence after them other generations. No nation can precede its term, nor can they delay it.}