Tafsir of At-Tur 52:44

"And if they were to see a fragment..."

• Al-Kisf (the fragment): A piece. This is the answer to their statement: "Or you make the sky fall upon us in fragments, as you have claimed" (Al-Isra: 92).
• The meaning: Due to the intensity of their tyranny and stubbornness, if We were to drop it upon them, they would say: "This is a cloud, piled up one part upon another, bringing us rain." They would not believe it is a fragment falling for the sake of punishment.
• Readings: It is read as hatta yulqu (until they meet) and yulqu (they meet).
• "They will be struck by a thunderclap (yus'aqun)": They will die. It is also read as yas'aqun. It is said: "He struck him with a thunderclap (sa'aqahu), so he fell unconscious/died (sa'aqa)." This occurs at the first blast, the blast of the thunderclap.
• "But indeed, for those who have wronged...": Indeed, for these oppressors, there is a punishment before that.
• "Before that": Before the Day of Resurrection. This refers to the killing at Badr, the seven-year drought, or the punishment of the grave. In the codex of Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud), it reads: "Before that, soon."