وَأَنذِرِ ٱلنَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ أَخِّرْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ ٱلرُّسُلَ ۗ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَقْسَمْتُم مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُم مِّن زَوَالٍ
Wa andhiri'n-nāsa yawma yaʾtīhimu'l-ʿadhābu fa-yaqūlu'lladhīna ẓalamū rabbanā akhkhirnā ilā ajalin qarībin nujib daʿwataka wa nattabiʿi'r-rusul · A-wa-lam takūnū aqsamtum min qablu mā lakum min zawāl
"Warn people of the day the punishment comes to them. On that day the wrongdoers will say: 'Our Lord! Defer us to a near term; we will answer Your call and follow the messengers.' — 'Did you not swear before that there would be no passing away for you?'"
| Verse | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | The messengers | God will defer you — the content of the call |
| 42 | The text | He defers them — a ruling |
| 44 | The wrongdoers | "Defer us" — a request, but its time is past |
The three occurrences draw a curve, and I record this as my own reading: the deferral was first offered, then applied, and at the last asked for. The moment it is asked for is the moment what was offered has come to an end.
And the root will occur once more in the sūra, two verses later: wa in kāna makruhum li-tazūla minhu'l-jibāl (46). The two occurrences must be recorded:
| Verse | Zawāl | Who / what |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Mā lakum min zawāl | For themselves — the claim "we shall not pass away" |
| 46 | Li-tazūla minhu'l-jibāl | For the mountains — the target of the scheme |
I record this as a weave within the sūra and it can be verified: those who admit no passing away for themselves frame a scheme that would shift mountains from their places. The same root, once as a claim about themselves and once as a design concerning something else.