Say: 'God is more knowledgeable of how long they tarried. Qatāda said, 'These are the words spoken by the People of the Book and completing where they had said They will say … [Q. 18:22]. And His words Say: 'God is more knowledgeable…' is a refutation of them. In the codex (muṣḥaf) of ʿAbd Allāh [b. Masʿūd] it is: And they said that they had tarried (wa-qālū labithū), that is because there is no verifiable or unvarying certainty [regarding the exact duration].
