بَلْ بَدَا لَهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يُخْفُونَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ ﴿۲۸﴾ وَقَالُوا إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَبْعُوثِينَ ﴿۲۹﴾ وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ أَلَيْسَ هَذَا بِالْحَقِّ قَالُوا بَلَى وَرَبِّنَا قَالَ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ ﴿۳۰﴾ قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِلِقَاءِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَتْهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً قَالُوا يَا حَسْرَتَنَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِيهَا وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَهُمْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِمْ أَلَا سَاءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ ﴿۳۱﴾

﴾28﴿ Bal badaa lahum maa kaanoo yukhfoona min qablu wa law ruddoo la'aadoo limaa nuhoo 'anhu wa innahum lakaaziboon
﴾29﴿ Wa qaalooo in hiya illaa hayaatunad dunyaa wa maa nahnu bimab'ooseen
﴾30﴿ Wa law taraa iz wuqifoo 'alaa Rabbihim; qaala alaisa haazaa bilhaqq; qaaloo balaa wa Rabbinaa; qaala fazooqul 'azaaba bimaa kuntum takfuroon
﴾31﴿ Qad khasiral lazeena kazzaboo biliqaaa'il laahi hattaaa izaa jaaa'at humus Saa'atu baghtatan qaaloo yaa hasratanaa 'alaa maa farratnaa feehaa wa hum yahmiloona awzaarahum 'alaa zuhoorihim; alaa saaa'a ma yaziroon

﴾28﴿ Rather, what they used to hide before has now become clear to them, and if they were sent back [to the world], they would surely return to what they were forbidden from, and indeed, they are surely liars.
﴾29﴿ And they say, “There is nothing but our worldly life, and we will not be resurrected.”
﴾30﴿ And if you could see when they are made to stand before their Lord—He will say, “Is this not the truth?” They will say, “Yes, by our Lord!” He will say, “Then taste the punishment for what you used to deny.”
﴾31﴿ Surely, those who denied the meeting with Allah have lost, until when the Hour comes upon them suddenly, they will say, “Alas for us, for our negligence regarding it!” And they will carry their burdens on their backs. Beware! How evil is that which they bear!

[28] This is connected to the previous verse, showing that their regret is not due to sincere conviction in their hearts.
(Bal badā lahum mā kānū yukhfūna min qabl) – meaning: what they used to hide before has now become clear to them.
One meaning is that their shirk, which they used to conceal—such as their earlier statement: “By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists”—has now been exposed through the testimony of their limbs.
Another meaning is that the truth which their arrogant leaders used to hide has now become apparent to their followers. This is the interpretation given by Az-Zajjāj.
[29] This is a warning concerning the denial of resurrection (baʿth). It serves as the reason for calling them kādhibūn (liars).
The pronoun hiya refers to the known worldly life (ḥayāt maʿrūfah).
[30] The next two verses are connected to this and serve to affirm the resurrection (baʿth) through warning and instilling fear.
They emphasize the reality of life after death by reminding of Allah’s power and the consequences awaiting the deniers.
[31] (As-Sā‘ah) refers to the Day of Judgment, as it is called the Hour due to the swift reckoning that will take place on that day.
This is also an affirmation of the resurrection with a warning and an admonition about the consequences of the Hereafter.
(Baghtah) – the time of its occurrence is unknown, although its signs are clear.
(Yā hasratānā) – expressing deep regret over something lost, with hasratnā being an exaggerated form, indicating extreme sorrow, similar to saying “we are truly regretful.”
(Farratnā fīhā) – the pronoun refers to the world, indicating that they wasted their time in it, or it could refer to the Hour itself, where they failed to prepare for it.
(Wa hum yaḥmilūna awzārahum) – this refers to the fact that they used to blame their leaders for their misguidance, claiming that their sins were upon them.
Allah, however, rejects this misconception and implies that they are fully responsible for their actions, and the burden of their sins is on them.