وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنْتَ فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ﴿۳۳﴾ وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلَّا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿۳۴﴾ وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ ﴿۳۵﴾

﴾33﴿ Wa maa kaanal laahu liyu'az zibahum wa anta feehim; wa maa kaanal laahu mu'az zibahum wa hum yastaghfiroon
﴾34﴿ Wa maa lahum allaa yu'az zibahumul laahu wa hum yasuddoona 'anil Masjidil-Haraami wa maa kaanooo awliyaaa'ah; in awliyaaa' uhooo illal muttaqoona wa laakinna aksarahum laa ya'lamoon
﴾35﴿ Wa maa kaana Salaatuhum 'indal Baiti illa mukaaa anw-wa tasdiyah; fazooqul 'azaaba bimaa kuntum takfuroon

﴾33﴿ And Allah Almighty will never punish them while you are among them. And Allah Almighty will never punish them while they are seeking forgiveness
﴾34﴿ And what excuse do they have that Allah Almighty will not punish them (now) while they are preventing people from the Sacred Mosque And none have the authority over it except the righteous, but most of them do not know
﴾35﴿ And their prayer near the Kaaba is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste, O disbelievers, the punishment for what you used to disbelieve

[33] In this verse, two statements answer two questions.
The first question is: since they were asking for punishment, why did it not descend upon them? And this request occurred when the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) was still in Makkah. The answer is that as long as the Prophet is present among a people, punishment does not descend upon them.
The second question is: after the Prophet migrated, why did the punishment still not come immediately? Instead, their punishment was delayed until the Battle of Badr. The answer is that it was postponed due to the seeking of forgiveness (istighfar).
There are two interpretations of this istighfar:
1. The first is that the polytheists, during their circumambulation (ṭawāf), used to say “Ghufrānaka” (We seek Your forgiveness). This act of seeking forgiveness delayed the punishment. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that seeking forgiveness—even from sinners—can repel some harms and evils (according to Qurtubi), though it does not prevent complete punishment.
2. The second view is that the intended meaning of istighfar is the seeking of forgiveness by the believers who, due to weakness, had not yet migrated. This is referenced in verse 25 of Surah Al-Fath.
[34] This verse explains the reason for the punishment that descended upon the polytheists at Badr and mentions the consequences of lacking Taqwa. (إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ) — This has two meanings:
1. Only the believers have rightful authority over the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram). The disbelievers have no right to prevent access to it.
2. The true friends of Allah Most High are the people of Taqwa, not the insane or those in a state of spiritual intoxication (majdhūb), as the ignorant falsely believe. A detailed refutation of this misconception is provided in Ruh al-Ma‘ani.
Similarly, verses 62–63 of Surah Yunus also clarify this. Here, the intended meaning of Taqwa is its basic level—belief in the Oneness of Allah and faith in the fundamental sense. Whereas in Surah Yunus, the reference is to complete Taqwa.
(وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ) — “Most of them” here either means all of them (as is sometimes the style of the Qur’an), or it refers to the fact that a few among them, despite knowing the truth, opposed it out of stubbornness.
[35] This too is a warning to the deniers and illustrates the consequence of lacking Taqwa. This verse has two interpretations:
1. The polytheists of Quraysh used to perform ṭawāf (circumambulation) of the House of Allah, during which they would whistle and clap, thinking it to be an act of worship. This is similar to how some so-called “elders” today dance and clap during dhikr. All of this is against Shariah and not the behavior of the wise, as mentioned by Qurtubi.
2. The second interpretation is that their prayer near the House of Allah was meaningless and vain, just like whistling and clapping are meaningless. This view is mentioned by Alusi and Raghib. It becomes clear that although they did have a form of ṣalāh (prayer), due to their shirk (polytheism), it was rendered void.
The words (مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً) (whistling and clapping) are used metaphorically to liken their prayer to these meaningless actions.