قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُهُ بَيَاتًا أَوْ نَهَارًا مَاذَا يَسْتَعْجِلُ مِنْهُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ ﴿۵۰﴾ أَثُمَّ إِذَا مَا وَقَعَ آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ آلْآنَ وَقَدْ كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ ﴿۵۱﴾ ثُمَّ قِيلَ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ هَلْ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ ﴿۵۲﴾ وَيَسْتَنْبِئُونَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلْ إِي وَرَبِّي إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ ﴿۵۳﴾

﴾50﴿ Qul 'a ra'aytum in ataakum 'azaabuhoo bayaatan aw nahaaran maazaa yasta'jilu minhul mujrimoon
﴾51﴿ 'A thumma izaa maa waqa'a aamantum bih; aaal 'aana wa qad kuntum bihee tasta'jiloon
﴾52﴿ Thumma qeela lil lazeena zalamoo zooqoo 'azaabal khuldi hal tujzawna illaa bimaa kuntum taksiboon
﴾53﴿ Wa yastanbi'oonaka 'a haqqun huwa qul ee wa Rabbeee innahoo lahaqq; wa maaa antum bimu'jizeen

﴾50﴿ Say, 'Have you considered if the punishment of Allah comes to you by night or by day? What is there of it that the criminals would hasten
﴾51﴿ Now, is it (only) when the punishment has come that you will believe in it? But indeed, you were hastening it before
﴾52﴿ So it will be said to the wrongdoers: Taste the everlasting punishment. You are only being recompensed for what you used to do
﴾53﴿ And they ask you, Is this punishment of the Day of Resurrection true, Say, Yes, by my Lord, it is indeed true, and you will not be able to escape it

[50] In this verse, there is a warning to the deniers, along with a threat of punishment. It is connected to their demand for punishment—the second answer to their challenge. The meaning is: when Allah’s punishment comes suddenly, whether by night or by day, what plan will these deniers have to ward it off?
(مَاذَا يَسْتَعْجِلُ مِنْهُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ) – There are two interpretations:
First meaning: How great is this punishment that the criminals are hastily demanding it from Allah the Exalted! In this explanation, the consequence of the condition is omitted—meaning: they will regret having hastened it. Here, the pronoun “minhu” (from Him) refers to Allah the Exalted.
Second meaning: What plan or action will the criminals rush to in order to escape from the punishment? In this interpretation, the pronoun “minhu” refers to “mādhā”—i.e., what will they do quickly (what strategy or effort) when the punishment comes?
[51] This verse is also connected to the previous one. The message is: if, in order to ward off the punishment, they try to believe at that moment, then the angels will respond to them saying: “Now? Are you believing now?”—even though at that point, faith will no longer be accepted.
(آلْآنَ) – The implied phrase before it is: “It will be said to them”, which is omitted but understood from the context.
This same structure appears in verse 99 of this surah, where the phrase “Now?” (آلآن) is also used in reference to believing at the time of death, when belief is no longer of any benefit.
[52] In this verse, the warning could refer to worldly punishment. If by “ عذاب خلد” (eternal punishment) the intended meaning is worldly punishment, then the verse connects directly to the previous one. In such a case, “eternal punishment” refers to a punishment that leads to total destruction—meaning they are destroyed in this world and never return, thus it is described as “eternal.”
Alternatively, the verse could be referring to punishment in the Hereafter, if “عذاب خلد” is understood to mean the eternal punishment of the afterlife.
So, depending on the interpretation of “عذاب خلد”, the verse either warns of worldly destruction or the eternal torment of the Hereafter.
[53] This verse is a warning to the deniers of the Resurrection and punishment, as mentioned in the previous verse. In this verse, Allah the Exalted swears by His Own Self regarding the certainty of the coming of the Resurrection. Similar oaths appear in:
Verse 68 of Surah Maryam, Verse 3 of Surah Saba, Verse 7 of Surah At-Taghabun
The pronoun هو refers to the punishment that was previously promised—specifically, the eternal punishment (عذاب الخلد) in the Day of Judgment.
(بِمُعْجِزِينَ) – This can be interpreted in two ways:
1. As intransitive, meaning: they cannot escape from the punishment.
2. As transitive, meaning: they cannot save themselves from it.
In both senses, the idea is that to be عاجز (powerless) in the face of something implies that the thing in question cannot be escaped or avoided. Thus, none can outstrip or overpower Allah in avoiding the punishment.