His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿He said, 'How long have you remained in the earth for a number of years?'﴾ ﴿They said, 'We remained a day or part of a day. So ask the enumerators.'﴾ ﴿He said, 'Indeed, you remained only a little, if only you had known.'﴾ ﴿Did you think that We created you in play and that you would not be returned to Us?﴾

Nafi', Asim, Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: 'He said, How long have you remained,' and 'Say, if you remained.' Al-Bizzi narrated from Ibn Kathir: 'He said, if you remained' in the report. Abu Amr, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai merged the letter 'ta,' while the others do not merge it. The meaning of the first is: a notification that Allah grants them the opportunity to ask about the duration, then He informs them in the end that their stay was little. The meaning of the second is: a command directed to one of them, meaning: it is said to one of them, 'Say this,' and if he says something other than the correct, he is told: 'Say, if you remained.' The meaning of the narration of Al-Bizzi is: a pause, then a notification. In the Mushafs, it is written 'He said' in both, except in the Mushaf of Kufa, which has 'Say' without the 'alif.'

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: 'in the earth,' Al-Tabari said: its meaning is: in the worldly life while alive. From this, the question arose, and they forgot due to the overwhelming horror of the punishment until they said: ﴿a day or part of a day.﴾

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The purpose of this is to make them realize that their lifespans are short, and their disbelief in it has led them to a long punishment.

And the majority of the interpreters said: in the depths of the earth, dead.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is the more correct view, as they denied resurrection, and their saying was: that they would not rise from the dust. They were asked when they rose: 'How long have you remained?' And His final saying: ﴿and that you would not be returned to Us﴾ necessitates what we have mentioned.

And 'a number of' is in the accusative case due to 'how many' as a distinction. Al-Amash read: 'a number of years' with the tanween on 'a number of.'

Mujahid said: They meant by 'the enumerators' the angels, and Qatadah said: They meant the people of reckoning.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The apparent wording indicates that they meant those who possess this attribute and did not specify angels or others; because the sleeper and the dead do not count the movement and do not estimate time for him.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Indeed, you remained only a little﴾ means - according to the saying that the stay in the world - that it is a little in comparison to what you are being punished with. And according to the saying that the stay in the graves, its meaning is that it is little, for every coming is near. However, you denied it when you did not know; for you did not desire knowledge and guidance.

And 'in play' means: in vain, without an intended purpose. The majority read: 'you would be returned' with a dammah on the 'ta' and a fatha on the 'jeem.' Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: 'you would be returned' with a fatha on the 'ta' and a kasrah on the 'jeem.' The meaning in both is clear.