وَأُخِذُواْ مِن مَّكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ
(and they will be seized from a near place.) means, they will not even be given the slightest chance of escape, but they will be seized from the first instant. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "When they come forth from their graves."
وَقَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ
(And they will say: "We do believe (now);") means, on the Day of Resurrection, they will say, `we believe in Allah and His angels, Books and Messengers.' This is like the Ayah:
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُواْ رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَـلِحاً إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ
(And if you only could see when the criminals shall hang their heads before their Lord (saying): "Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back that we will do righteous good deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.") (32:12) Allah says:
وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِن مَّكَانِ بَعِيدٍ
(but how could they receive from a place so far off) meaning, how could they attain faith now that they are so far removed from the place where it could be accepted from them, and they have entered the realm of the Hereafter which is the realm of reward and punishment, not the realm of trial and testing If they had believed in this world, that would have been good for them, but now they have entered the Hereafter, there is no way that their faith can be accepted, just as there is no way a person can get a thing if he is far away from it. Mujahid said:
وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ
but how could they At-Tana0wush؟ means, How could they attain that؟ Az-Zuhri said, They will wish to attain faith when they have reached the Hereafter and are cut off from this world. Al-Hلasan Al-Basلri said, They will seek something when they have no way of attaining it, they will seek faith from a distant place.
وَقَدْ كَـفَرُواْ بِهِ مِن قَـبْلُ
Indeed they did disbelieve before, means, how can they attain faith in the Hereafter when in this world they disbelieved in the truth and denied the Messengers؟
وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ
(and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen from a far place. ) Malik narrated from Zayd bin Aslam that he said:
وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ
(and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen,) means, "By guessing." as Allah says,
رَجْماً بِالْغَيْبِ
guessing at the Unseen )18:22(. Sometimes they said he was a poet, sometimes they said he was a soothsayer, or a sorcerer, or a mad man, or other baseless comments. They denied the idea of resurrection and said:
إِن نَّظُنُّ إِلاَّ ظَنّاً وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِينَ
(we do not think it but as a conjecture, and we have no firm convincing belief.) (45:32). Qatadah and Mujahid said, "Their belief that there would be no resurrection, no Paradise and no Hell was based on mere conjecture."
وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ
(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire,) Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Ad-Dahhak and others, `This means faith." As-Suddi said:
وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ
(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire, ) means "Repentance." This was also the view of Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him. Mujahid said:
وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ
(And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire,) means, "This world and its wealth, luxuries and people." Something similar was narrated from Ibn `Umar, Ibn `Abbas and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. It is also the opinion of Al-Bukhari and the Group. The correct view is that there is no contradiction between the two views, for a barrier will be set between them and what they desire in this world, and what they seek in the Hereafter will be denied from them.
كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَـعِهِم مِّن قَبْلُ
(as was done in the past with the people of their kind.) means, as happened to the nations of the past who disbelieved in the Messengers; when the punishment of Allah came upon them, they wished that they had believed, but this was not accepted from them.
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَـفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ - فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنفَعُهُمْ إِيمَـنُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى قَدْ خَلَتْ فِى عِبَادِهِ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْكَـفِرُونَ
(So, when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in Allah Alone and reject (all) that we used to associate with Him as (His) partners. "Then their faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allah in dealing with His servants. And there the disbelievers lost utterly.) (40:84-85).
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ فِى شَكٍّ مُّرِيبِ
Verily, they have been in grave doubt. means, in this world they had doubts, so their faith will not be accepted from them when they behold the punishment with their own eyes. Qata0dah said, Beware of doubt. For whoever dies doubting, will be raised doubting؛ and whoever dies believing, with certainty will be raised believing with certainty. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Saba'. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Guide to the right way.