Tafsir of Saba' 34:51

{ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ }: Its response (apodosis) is omitted. It means: "You would have seen a momentous affair and a terrifying state."

The Tense: The particle law (if), idh (when), and the verbs fazi‘ū (they were terrified), ukhidhū (they were seized), and ḥīla (it was intervened) are all in the past tense. However, the intended meaning is the future, because what Allah will do in the future is treated as if it has already occurred and exists, due to its certainty.

The Time of Terror:

• It is the time of Resurrection and the establishment of the Hour.
• It is said: The time of death.
• It is said: The day of Badr.
• From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): It was revealed regarding the sinking of the army in the desert (al-baydā’). This is because eighty thousand will march to the Kaaba to destroy it, and when they enter the desert, they will be swallowed by the earth.

{ فَلَا فَوْتَ }: They will not escape Allah, nor will they outrun Him. (A variant reading: falā fawta).

{ وَأُخِذُوا مِن مَّكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ }:

• From the place of standing (on the Day of Judgment) to the Fire when they are resurrected.
• Or from the surface of the earth to its belly when they die.
• Or from the desert of Badr to the pit (al-qalīb).
• Or from beneath their feet when they are swallowed by the earth.

Grammatical Inquiry: Upon what is the statement { وَأُخِذُوا } conjoined? Response: There are two possibilities:

1. Conjoined to { فَزِعُوا }, meaning: "They were terrified and they were seized, and there is no escape for them."
2. Conjoined to { لَا فَوْتَ }, meaning: "When they are terrified, they will not escape, and they will be seized."

• A variant reading exists: { وَأَخْذٌ } (a noun), which is conjoined to the position of { لَا فَوْتَ }, meaning: "There is no escape there, and there is a seizing there."