The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 70
CH. 19 MARYAM PT. 16 does give those who are in error قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الضَّلَلَةِ فَلْيَمْدُدْ لَهُ Say, The Gracious God. 76 الرَّحْمَنُ مَنَّا حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَوْا مَا long respite until, when they يُوعَدُونَ إِمَّا الْعَذَابَ وَإِمَّا السَّاعَةَ be فَسَيَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا وَأَضْعَفُ will see that with which they are threatened whether it punishment or the final Hour- they will realize who is worse in respect of position and who is weaker in forces. 2215 972:25. other, it leaves no doubt that in spite of all these things they will eventually come to grief. It may be said that the statement made in the verse under comment that there lived in the past more powerful and wealthier peoples than the present Christian nations of the West is contrary to the facts of history. Speaking absolutely it is correct that Western Christian nations of today were never equalled in the past by any nation in material power and wealth but speaking comparatively there certainly have been rulers and nations in the past who were more powerful than these nations, inasmuch as the opponents of the former were much weaker to them in material resources and in numbers than the adversaries of Western Christian nations of today are to them. It is in this sense that some of the nations of antiquity have been described as more powerful than the Western Christian nations of today in the present verse. 2215. Commentary: جندا imperative mood has been used in the indicative mood in order to impart more emphasis to the meaning. The verse means to say that God will give more and more respite to the wrongdoing people and will grant them increase in power and wealth and resources, so that when Divine punishment descends upon them, their destruction will look all the more impressive and awe-inspiring. (the punishment) here may signify the intervening punishment which will overtake Western nations in stages before their final destruction, and may mean their complete and final destruction. Thus the verse means to say that Divine punishment will descend upon the nations of the West in different forms and stages. At first their power will gradually weaken and decline by wars that will take place at short intervals and then a global war in which most deadly weapons will be used will destroy them fully and completely. having الساعة and العذاب The words been used simultaneously in the verse show that the punishment which will The verb while being in the overtake Western nations, if they did 1984