'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And for every nation there is a messenger. So when their messenger comes, it will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.﴾ ﴿And they say, 'When is this promise, if you are among the truthful?'﴾ ﴿Say, 'I do not possess for myself any harm or benefit except what Allah wills. For every nation is a term. When their term comes, they will not delay it by an hour, nor will they advance it.'﴾ His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And for every nation there is a messenger.﴾ This is a statement similar to His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Whenever a group is thrown into it, its keepers will ask them, 'Did there not come to you a warner?'﴾ [Al-Mulk: 8] ﴿They will say, 'Yes.'﴾ [Al-Mulk: 9] Mujahid and others said: The meaning is that when their messenger comes on the Day of Resurrection for testimony against them, some will be made for Paradise and some for Hell. That is the judgment between them with justice. It is said: The meaning is that when their messenger comes in this world and is sent, they will be subjected to the decree of Allah with punishment for some and forgiveness for others according to their ends. That is a judgment between them with justice. Some of the interpreters linked this verse with His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And We did not punish until We sent a messenger.﴾ [Al-Isra: 15] This agrees either by making 'punishing' in the Hereafter, or by making the judgment between them in this world, where the connection of the two verses is valid. (p-489) And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And they say, 'When is this promise?'﴾ until His saying: ﴿nor will they advance it.﴾ The pronoun in 'they say' refers to the disbelievers. Their question about the promise is a challenge to their claim in the argument, meaning: This punishment which you have promised us has a specified time so that we may know the truth of that from the falsehood. Some of the interpreters said: Their saying this is in the context of mockery. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This does not appear from the wording. Then He, exalted and glorified is He, commanded him to say to them: ﴿I do not possess for myself any harm or benefit except what Allah wills.﴾ The meaning is: Say to them, O Muhammad, in response to the argument: I do not possess for myself any harm or benefit apart from Allah. I am only in the grasp of His authority and in need of His kindness. If I am like this, then it is more appropriate that I do not know His unseen nor disobey anything of His command. But for every nation is a term that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, alone has knowledge of its limit and time. When that term comes in death or destruction of a nation, they will not delay it by an hour, nor will they be able to advance it beyond the decree of Allah, exalted and glorified is He. Ibn Sirin read: 'Their terms' in the plural.