They hastened the promised punishment, so it was said to them, 'Perhaps some of it will follow you, and it is the punishment of the Day of Badr.' The 'lam' was added for emphasis, like the 'ba' in 'And do not throw with your own hands.' Or it is implied in the meaning of a verb that requires the 'lam,' such as 'approached you' and 'is near to you.' Its meaning is: 'and it followed you and caught up with you,' and it was made transitive by what was said: 'When we followed from Umair and his companions, they turned away quickly while death was rushing behind them.' [Following is like catching up, and here it is implied in the meaning of approaching, so it was made transitive by what was said. The horse 'rushed' means it moved quickly and easily. The 'neck' is a name from it. He says: 'When we approached Umair and his companions for war, they fled quickly, while death was rushing behind them from our direction.' He likened death to a lion in a metaphorical manner, affirming for it the neck as an illusion, as if they were following them by throwing arrows. It is possible that he borrowed death for himself and his people in a literal way, meaning: 'And we are rushing behind them,' and he mentioned the neck as a stripping away, because it fits the comparison.] It means: 'We approached Umair.' Al-A'raj read: 'It followed you,' in the measure of 'dahaba,' and both are two dialects, and the kasra is more eloquent. 'Perhaps' and 'maybe' and 'will'—in the promises and threats of kings—indicate the truth of the matter and its seriousness, with no room for doubt thereafter. What they mean by that is: to show their dignity and that they do not hasten in revenge, due to their pride in their victory and their confidence that their enemy will not escape them, and that the hint at the objectives is sufficient from their side. Thus, the promise and threat of Allah proceeded.