"And Our command" (l. 347), meaning the coming of the Hour, "is but one, like the twinkling of an eye." The interpretation of al-Hasan is: when the punishment of the disbelievers of the end of this nation arrives with the first blast of the Trumpet.
Muhammad said: The meaning is that when He wills their destruction, the speed of His power in bringing it about is as the speed of a twinkling eye. This is what al-Hasan intended. The meaning of "the twinkling of an eye" is that the eye gazes at the sky, which is a journey of five hundred years, and this is from His immense power.
His saying: "except one," the meaning is: except one command.
﴿وَمَا أمرنَا﴾ (ل ٣٤٧) يَعْنِي مَجِيء السَّاعَة ﴿إِلا وَاحِدَةٌ كلمح بالبصر﴾ تَفْسِير الْحسن يَعْنِي: إِذا جَاءَ عَذَابَ كُفَّارِ آخِرِ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بالنفخة الأولى.
قَالَ محمدٌ: الْمَعْنى: أَنه إِذا أَرَادَ هلاكهم كَانَت سُرْعة الاقتدار على الْإِتْيَان بِهِ كسُرعة لمح الْبَصَر، وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَرَادَ الْحسن، وَمعنى لمح الْبَصَر: أَن البصَرَ يلمحُ السَّمَاء وَهِي مسيرَة خَمْسمِائَة عَام، وَهَذَا من عَظِيم الْقُدْرَة.
وَقَوله: ﴿إِلَّا وَاحِدَة﴾ فَإِن الْمَعْنى: إِلَّا قَوْله وَاحِدَة