Here, Allah (swt) moves on to tell us of the contrary picture. This is because, however long life is, it is in fact short. However long a person’s life stretches, he will surely stand in this Place of Standing.

After they had turned people away from listening to the Holy Quran, distanced themselves from it, caused confusion regarding it and stopped everything to do with it:

 (  فَقَالُوا يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلَا نُكَذِّبَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ… ) (…and will say, “Oh, would that we could be returned [to life on earth] and not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers.”): They will say that, as Allah (swt) says:

 حَتَّى إِذَا جَاء أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ (99) لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلَّا إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ (100) فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءلُونَ (101) فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (102) وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ (103) تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَالِحُونَ

(When death approaches any of them, they cry, “My Lord!  Let me go back, (99) so I may do good in what I left behind.” Never! It is only a (useless) appeal they make. And there is a barrier behind them until the Day they are resurrected. (100) Then, when the Trumpet will be blown, there will be no kinship between them on that Day, nor will they ask about one another. (101) As for those whose scale is heavy (with good deeds), it is they who will be successful. (102) But those whose scale is light, they will have doomed themselves, staying in Hell forever. (103) The Fire will burn their faces, leaving them deformed) (Al-Muminoon: 99-104)