يَقولُ يا لَيتَني قَدَّمتُ لِحَياتي
فَيَومَئِذٍ لا يُعَذِّبُ عَذابَهُ أَحَدٌ
وَلا يوثِقُ وَثاقَهُ أَحَدٌ
He will say: ‘Alas, had I sent ahead [provisions] for my life!’
On that day none shall punish as He punishes,
and none shall bind as He binds.
EXEGESIS
In verse 26, the third person, singular, imperfect tense verb yūthiqu means: to tie up, to bind, to shackle.
EXPOSITION
The wishing particle layta occurring in verse 24 generally relates to something impossible and is often preceded by the vocative yā for emphasis, becoming yā layta and translated as: would that …, I wish that …, if only …
A subtle point worthy of note here is that the unfortunate person on the Day of Judgement, in his state of hopeless despair, is not described as saying ‘Alas, had I sent ahead for my hereafter (ākhiratī)’, but rather he says: Alas, had I sent ahead for my life (ḥayātī), thereby proving that the life hereafter is not only better and more everlasting (4:77, 6:32, 7:169, 93:4, 87:17, 9:38, 12:57, 12:109, 40:39), but it is also the actual and true one, as is reiterated in 29:64.
Ṭabrisī makes the observation that verse 24 is proof that man is a free agent in this world for otherwise he would not express regret for not having sent provisions for the hereafter if it was not possible due to lack of free will or predetermination.
Then verses 25-26 indicate the severity of God’s punishment on that day: On that day none shall punish as He punishes, and none shall bind as He binds.
[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1011.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 859.
[3] Amthal, 19/195.
[4] Tabrisi.J, 6/490.