Tafsir of Ghafir 40:84

"The Ba's (punishment):" The intensity of the torment. From this is His saying, the Exalted: "with a severe punishment" (Al-A'raf: 165).

If you ask: What is the difference between His saying, "So their faith did not benefit them" (lam yaku yanfa'uhum), and if it were said: "So their faith did not benefit them" (lam yanfa'uhum)?

I say: It is like the kana (was) in His saying: "It is not befitting for Allah to take a son" (Maryam: 35). The meaning is: It was not valid, nor was it established, that their faith would benefit them.

If you ask: How do these fa (so/then) particles follow one another?

I say: As for His saying, "So what did they avail them" (Ghafir: 82), it is the result of His saying, "They were more numerous than them" (Ghafir: 82).

As for His saying, "So when their messengers came to them with clear proofs" (Ghafir: 83), it functions as an explanation and clarification for His saying, "So what did they avail them" (Ghafir: 82). It is like your saying: "Zayd was granted wealth, so he withheld charity and did not do good to the poor."

His saying, "When they saw Our punishment," follows His saying, "So when they came to them" (Ghafir: 83). It is as if He said: "They disbelieved, so when they saw Our punishment, they believed."

Likewise, "So their faith did not benefit them" follows their belief upon seeing the punishment of Allah.

"The way of Allah" is in the position of "The promise of Allah" (An-Nisa: 95) and similar emphatic verbal nouns (masadir).

"There" (hunalika) is a place metaphorically used for time. That is: "And they lost at the time of seeing the punishment." Likewise is His saying, "And the followers of falsehood will lose there" (Ghafir: 78), after His saying, "So when the command of Allah comes, He will judge with truth" (Ghafir: 78)—meaning: they lost at the time the command of Allah came, or at the time of the judgment with truth.

From the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "Whoever recites Surah Al-Mu'min (Ghafir), there will remain no soul of a prophet, nor a truthful one (siddiq), nor a martyr, nor a believer, except that they will pray for him and seek forgiveness for him."