قُلْ إِنْ ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَا أَضِلُّ عَلَى نَفْسِي وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِي إِلَيَّ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ ﴿۵۰﴾ وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ فَزِعُوا فَلَا فَوْتَ وَأُخِذُوا مِنْ مَكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ ﴿۵۱﴾ وَقَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ ﴿۵۲﴾ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِهِ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ ﴿۵۳﴾ وَحِيلَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ مَا يَشْتَهُونَ كَمَا فُعِلَ بِأَشْيَاعِهِمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا فِي شَكٍّ مُرِيبٍ ﴿۵۴﴾

﴾50﴿ Qul in dalaltu fainnamaaa adillu 'alaa nafsee wa inih-tadaitu fabimaa yoohee ilaiya Rabbee; innahoo Samee'un Qareeb
﴾51﴿ Wa law taraaa iz fazi'oo falaa fawta wa ukhizoo min makaanin qareeb
﴾52﴿ Wa qaaloo aamannaa bihee wa annaa lahumut tanaawushu min makaanin ba'eed
﴾53﴿ Wa qad kafaroo bihee min qablu wa yaqzifoona bilghaibi min makaanin ba'eed
span class="etext">﴾54﴿ Wa heela bainahum wa baina maa yashtahoona kamaa fu'ila bi-ashyaa'ihim min qabl; innahum kaanoo fee shakkin mureeb

﴾50﴿ Say: If I am astray, then I alone bear the burden of my straying. And if I am guided, it is because my Lord has revealed to me. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Ever-Near to all things
﴾51﴿ And if you could see when they are seized with fear, then there will be no escape, and they will be taken from a place nearby
﴾52﴿ And they will say, We believe in it. But how can they attain faith from a place far away
﴾53﴿ While they had already disbelieved in it before and were casting baseless statements from a place far away
span class="etext">﴾54﴿ Then a barrier will come between them and what they desire, just as was done with their counterparts before. Indeed, they were in deep and persistent doubt

[50] This is another method of invitation and teaching — meaning the deniers say: “You declared the religion of our forefathers false, so it is clear that you are misguided.”
The essence of the response is: even if, hypothetically, I am misguided, then the burden of that misguidance is upon me and has no consequence for you.
However, consider the other side as well — if I am rightly guided, then I possess the clear proof, and you are the deniers. In that case, the burden and punishment will fall upon you.
[51] This is a warning — meaning, if punishment comes upon you because of your denial of guidance, then there will be no salvation for you.
[52] This is a dispelling of a misconception — meaning they might say, “We will believe then, so we will be saved from punishment.”
The response is given with: (“And how can they grasp it from a distant place?” — وَأَنَّى لَهُمُ التَّنَاوُشُ مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ) — meaning the world has remained far from the Hereafter; how can you attain faith from such a distant place?
That is, the place for acquiring faith was the world, and it has now become distant from them.
[53] This explains the reason behind the previous verse — meaning, their faith is no longer accepted now because they used to disbelieve before, and they had no evidence for it.
(“And they throw [guesses] at the unseen” — وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ) — this is a metaphor for speculation and baseless claims (without evidence), regarding the rulings of the Qur’an, the Messenger, and the Hereafter.
(“From a distant place” — مِنْ مَكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ) — this too is a metaphor, meaning that making judgments without proof is like shooting an arrow or bullet from a far-off place at an unseen target — it never truly reaches or hits it. So “distant” is a metaphor for the unseen.
[54] This too falls under the category of warning — meaning, at the time of punishment in this world and the Hereafter, their wishes will be of no benefit.
One such wish is that they will say “We believe” at the time of punishment, thinking it will lead to salvation.
Another is the hope that they will enter Paradise, or that they will be returned to the world once again.