مُهْطِعِينَ مُقْنِعِي رُءُوسِهِمْ لَا يَرْتَدُّ إِلَيْهِمْ طَرْفُهُمْ وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ هَوَاءٌ ﴿۴۳﴾ وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ ﴿۴۴﴾ وَسَكَنْتُمْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ وَضَرَبْنَا لَكُمُ الْأَمْثَالَ ﴿۴۵﴾ وَقَدْ مَكَرُوا مَكْرَهُمْ وَعِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَكْرُهُمْ وَإِنْ كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ ﴿۴۶﴾

﴾43﴿ Muhti'eena muqni'ee ru'oosihim laa yartaddu ilaihim tarfuhum wa af'idatuhum hawaaa'
﴾44﴿ Wa anzirin naasa Yawma yaateehimul 'azaabu fa yaqoolul lazeena zalamoo Rabbanaaa akhkhirnaaa ilaaa ajalin qareebin nujib da'wataka wa nattabi 'ir Rusul; awalam takoonooo aqsamtum min qablu maa lakum min zawaal
﴾45﴿ Wa sakantum fee masaakinil lazeena zalamooo anfusahum wa tabaiyana lakum kaifa fa'alnaa bihim wa darabnaa lakumul amsaal
﴾46﴿ Wa qad makaroo makrahum wa 'indal laahi makruhum wa in kaana makruhum litazoola minhul jibaal

﴾43﴿ They hasten forward, raising their heads, their gaze does not return to them, and their hearts are empty (of knowledge)
﴾44﴿ And warn the people of the Day when the punishment will come upon them, and the wrongdoers will say: O our Lord, grant us a brief respite so we may respond to Your call and follow the messengers. (It will be said to them,) Did you not swear before this that you would never face decline
﴾45﴿ And you dwelled in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves, and it became clear to you how We dealt with them, and We presented to you many examples
﴾46﴿ And indeed, they devised their schemes, but their schemes are with Allah, and their schemes were not such as to move the mountains

[44] This verse is connected (conjoined) to (وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ)—meaning: while they are being given respite, warn them.
Here, the warning is about worldly punishment, as indicated by the phrase (رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا)—“Our Lord, delay [our end],” which clearly refers to wanting more time in the world.
However, some mufassirīn (commentators) interpret "Yawm al-‘adhāb" (the Day of Punishment) as referring to the Day of Judgment, and they interpret (أَخِّرْنَا) to mean “return us” to the world—i.e., let us go back and correct ourselves.
The verse also implies that the wrongdoers oppose the truth in two ways:
1. Rejecting the call to Tawḥīd (monotheism)
2. Refusing to follow the Messenger

(مَا لَكُم مِّن زَوَالٍ)—The word zawāl can mean either punishment or destruction/extinction.
So, the meaning is: “You used to believe that there would be no end for you collectively.” That is, they denied the destruction of the world—a belief still held by many atheists and materialists today.
Even though they cannot deny individual death, they believe that the world is eternal and deny the resurrection—which aligns with ancient and modern forms of naturalistic disbelief.
[45] In this verse, there is a reproach to the deniers, emphasizing that they had no excuse for their rejection after having witnessed and known three clear states:
1. You saw the homes of past wrongdoers—the ruins and destruction they left behind. 2. The signs of their punishment were made evident to you—whether through physical traces or historical reports. 3. The stories of past nations' punishments were explained to you—so the consequences were not hidden.
In summary, the verse conveys that your rejection persisted despite gaining knowledge in three ways: Through direct observation (you saw with your eyes), Through listening to historical accounts, And through revelation (waḥy) that clarified the truth.
Thus, your denial was not due to ignorance but intentional negligence and arrogance.
[46] The meaning of their makr (plotting) in this verse refers to either: Their shirk (associating partners with Allah) and rejection of the messengers, Or their opposition to the prophets and monotheists through various schemes and tactics.
(وَإِنْ كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ)—there are two main explanations for this:
1. Literal interpretation: The "mountains" are taken in their literal sense, referring to the massive, unmovable creations of Allah. Their plotting is described as so weak that it could not even move mountains—thus highlighting the futility and fragility of their efforts.
2. Metaphorical interpretation: The "mountains" symbolize Tawḥīd and the religion of the prophets, as something firm and unshakable. So, the meaning is: their plotting could not shake or remove the solid foundations of divine truth, just like mountains cannot be removed.
Grammatically: "إِنْ" is either waṣilah (emphatic), or lightened from inna (i.e., in mukhaffafah ‘an al-muthaqalah). The "lām" in "لِتَزُولَ" is fatḥah (open) for emphasis. This is supported by the qirā’ah (recitation) of ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, which follows this structure.