Overall meaning : Almighty Allah says: We never granted everlasting life to any human being before you, Muhammad; so if you die, do they hope they will live on for ever? On no account will this ever happen! Every human being is bound to taste death, no matter how long a person lives in this world. We will test you all sometimes with ease and prosperity, and at other times with hardship and adversity, and to Us will you be eventually returned for judgement and recompense. And when the unbelievers see you, Muhammad, they point at you, mockingly saying to one another, ‘Is this the man who speaks ill of your gods?’ And they would deny the All-Compassionate God and the favours He has bestowed upon them.
Man was created with a disposition to haste. I will show you My punishment, you who, out of sheer defiance, ask for your punishment to be hastened; therefore, do not ask for it to be hastened, for I will surely inflict it on you. The unbelievers sarcastically ask, ‘When will your threat, Muhammad, be fulfilled, if you and those who follow you are telling the truth?’
Had the unbelievers known what they will face when they will not be able to keep the fire away from their faces and their backs, nor will they find any helper to protect them against Allah’s punishment, they would not have stubbornly persisted in their unbelief and asked for their punishment to be hastened. The fire will overtake them suddenly, causing them great fear and throwing them into panic and confusion. They will not be able to save themselves from the torment, nor will they be granted reprieve to repent or offer an excuse.