And when the possibility struck them - glorified and exalted is He - it was as if it was said: Did they permit it, so they began to prepare for it? It was said: No, they continued in their stubbornness. So he said - resuming; turning to what he indicated at the beginning of Surah 'Ibrahim'; in His saying: ﴿Those who prefer the worldly life over the Hereafter﴾ [Ibrahim: 3]; as a barrier for them from yielding -: ﴿Leave them﴾; O most honored of creation with us; like the animals; ﴿Let them eat and enjoy﴾; and enjoyment: is the pleasure; and it is the seeking of pleasure moment after moment; like closeness in that it is the seeking of proximity moment after moment; ﴿And let them be distracted﴾; meaning: let them be occupied from taking their share of happiness; ﴿Hope﴾; meaning: their hope for a long life; and reaching what the imagination estimates of pleasures; without any preparatory cause for that.

And when this matter is one that only a fool would engage in; it caused the threat to arise; by His saying: ﴿So they will soon know﴾; meaning: what will befall them after the time we allowed them for enjoyment; and Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr said; in his proof: When the warning of the disbelievers has preceded what is contained in the verses concluding Surah 'Ibrahim'; from His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And do not think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do﴾ [Ibrahim: 42]; until its conclusion; He followed that with His saying: ﴿Perhaps those who disbelieved will wish they were Muslims﴾ [Al-Hijr: 2]; meaning: at the sight of those magnificent states; then He said (the Exalted) - confirming that warning -: ﴿Let them eat and enjoy themselves, and let hope distract them. So they will soon know﴾; then He followed this (the Exalted) with a clarification of what He made a tradition among His servants; regarding the connection of reward and punishment; both immediate and delayed; at times and occasions; from which there is no escape; nor is there advancement or delay; for the hastening of punishment is generally from one who fears missing out; and the world; in its entirety; is in the grasp of Allah (the Exalted); no one among them will escape Him; nor will He be unable to seize them; and He said (the Exalted): ﴿And We did not destroy any city except that it had a known decree﴾ [Al-Hijr: 4]; and this increases the clarity of His saying - the Mighty and Majestic -: ﴿He only delays them for a Day when the eyes will stare in horror﴾ [Ibrahim: 42]; and His saying: ﴿And warn the people of a Day when the punishment will come to them﴾ [Ibrahim: 44]; and His saying: ﴿The Day the earth will be replaced by another earth﴾ [Ibrahim: 48]; the verse; and contemplate the descent of His saying: ﴿Perhaps those who disbelieved will wish they were Muslims﴾ [Al-Hijr: 2]; upon this; and its great significance in its connection to it; and the clarity of all of that; and as for the opening of the Surah with His saying: ﴿Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the Book and a clear Qur'an﴾ [Al-Hijr: 1]; it refers to two clear matters: one of them is what He - glorified is He - alerted to from the signs and verses; as it is explained; and the second is what the glorious Qur'an clarified; and made clear; and what it contains of signs and the unseen; and the promise; and the warning; and the confirmation of some of that with some; so how can the threatened matter not be in the strength of the witnessed reality; due to the intensity of the clarity in the correctness of its occurrence? So the wonder is from the hesitation and denial! Then He followed this with His saying: ﴿Perhaps those who disbelieved will wish they were Muslims﴾ [Al-Hijr: 2]; it has ended.