Verse. 2164

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (except if allah will) unless you second it by saying: if allah will. (and remember thy lord) without exception (when thou forgettest) even if it is after a while, (and say: it may be that my lord guideth me) and lead me (unto a nearer way of truth than this) a more correct and certain way than this. this verse was revealed about the prophet (pbuh) for he said to the idolaters of mecca when they asked him about the spirit: "tomorrow, i will answer you", and he forgot to say "if allah wills".

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : without [adding], ‘if god will’, in other words, unless [firmly] adhering to the will of god, exalted be he, by saying, ‘if god will’ (inshā’a’llāh). and remember your lord, that is, [remember] his will, making [things] conditional on it, if you forget, to make [things] conditional on it: mentioning it after forgetting [it] is the equal [in validity] to mentioning it at the time of the statement — as al-hasan [al-basrī] and others have said — as long as the person is still in the [same] place [in which he made the statement]. and say, ‘may be my lord will guide me to [something] closer [in time] than this, [closer] than the story of the people of the cave, as an indication of [the truth of] my prophethood, by way of guidance, and god indeed did so.