If you could only see them when the great terror strikes them; they cannot escape then, and they will be taken away forcibly.
وَلَو تَرىٰ إِذ فَزِعوا فَلا فَوتَ وَأُخِذوا مِن مَكانٍ قَريبٍ
wa law taraaa iz fazi’oo falaa fawta wa ukhizoo min makaanin qareeb
They will then say, “We now believe in it,” but it will be far too late.
وَقالوا ءامَنّا بِهِ وَأَنّىٰ لَهُمُ التَّناوُشُ مِن مَكانٍ بَعيدٍ
wa qaaloo aamannaa bihee wa annaa lahumut tanaawushu min makaanin ba’eed
They have rejected it in the past; they have decided instead to uphold conjecture and guesswork.*
وَقَد كَفَروا بِهِ مِن قَبلُ وَيَقذِفونَ بِالغَيبِ مِن مَكانٍ بَعيدٍ
wa qad kafaroo bihee min qablu wa yaqzifoona bilghaibi min makaanin ba’eed
*34:53 People of all religions tend to forsake the word of God and uphold the words of men. The Jews and the Muslims uphold the Mishnah (Hadith) and Gemarrah (Sunna), while the Christians uphold a trinity invented by the Nicene Conference, 325 years after Jesus.
Consequently, they were deprived of everything they longed for. This is the same fate as their counterparts in the previous generations. They harbored too many doubts.
وَحيلَ بَينَهُم وَبَينَ ما يَشتَهونَ كَما فُعِلَ بِأَشياعِهِم مِن قَبلُ إِنَّهُم كانوا فى شَكٍّ مُريبٍ
wa heela bainahum wa baina maa yashtahoona kamaa fu’ila bi-ashyaa’ihim min qabl; innahum kaanoo fee shakkin mureeb