His saying, the Almighty: "Then I will surely come to them from before them"

[The first interpretation]

8244 - My father told us, Mu‘adh ibn al-Asad told us, al-Fadl ibn Musa informed us, Salamah ibn Shabur informed us, from ‘Atiyyah, from Ibn ‘Abbas, regarding the saying of Allah: "I will surely come to them from before them," [meaning] from the direction of the world.

It was narrated from Mujahid, Ibrahim, al-Hakam, Abu Salih, and al-Suddi similar to this.

The second interpretation:

8245 - My father told us, Abu Salih the scribe of al-Layth told us, Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih told me, from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn ‘Abbas: Regarding His saying: "I will surely come to them from before them," he said: I will cause them to doubt their Hereafter.

8246 - My father told me, Ibn Abi Surayj told us, al-Khaffaf—meaning ‘Abd al-Wahhab—informed us, Sa‘id informed us, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan: Regarding His saying: "From before them," he said: From the direction of the Hereafter, by denying the Resurrection, Paradise, and the Fire. It was narrated from ‘Ikrimah similar to this.

The third interpretation:

8247 - Hajjaj ibn Hamzah told us, Shababah told us, Warqa’ told us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid(1): His saying: "From before them," he says: From where they can see.

His saying, the Almighty: "And from behind them"

[The first interpretation]

8248 - My father told us, Abu Salih told us, Mu‘awiyah ibn Salih told me, from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn ‘Abbas: "And from behind them," he says: So I turn them away from their religion.

8249 - My father told us, Ibn Abi Surayj told us, ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Khaffaf informed us, Sa‘id informed us, from Qatadah, from al-Hasan: His saying: "And from behind them," [meaning] from the direction of their world, he beautifies it for them and makes it ready for them. It was narrated from ‘Ikrimah similar to this.

The second interpretation:

8250 - My father told us, Mu‘adh ibn Asad told us, al-Fadl ibn Musa told us, Salamah ibn Shabur told us, from ‘Atiyyah, from Ibn ‘Abbas: His saying: "And from behind them," [meaning] from the Hereafter.