He said in the manuscripts of the people of Kufa. And say: in the manuscripts of the people of the two holy places, Basra, and the Levant. In 'He said' there is a pronoun for Allah or the one commanded to ask them from the angels. In 'Say' there is a pronoun for the king or some leaders of the people of the Fire.

They sought to shorten the duration of their stay in the world in comparison to their eternity and what they are in of its punishment. This is because the one being tested longs for the days of his trial and seeks to shorten what has passed of the days of ease towards it. Or because they were in joy, and the days of joy are short. Or because what has passed is in the judgment of what has not been. And Allah confirmed them in their saying of how long they stayed in the world and reproached them for the heedlessness they were upon. And it was recited: 'So ask the enumerators,' and the meaning is: we do not know the number of those years except that we find it short and consider it a day or part of a day, due to what we are in of punishment, and we cannot count them. So ask whoever can count, and who is able to convey to him his thought. And it was said: So ask the angels who count the lifespans of the servants and record their deeds. And it was recited: 'the enumerators,' with a lighter pronunciation, meaning: the oppressors, for they say as we say. And it was recited: 'the ancient ones,' meaning: the long-lived ancients, for they find it short, so how about those beneath them? And from Ibn Abbas: He made them forget what they were in of punishment between the two blasts.