This Rahi (Author) links the past tense of
Those Who
Believed (
Amanu)
as believed in infinite past to verbiage Qadam, since this
affair of belief or disbelief was that of Qadim.
As Kharraz observed: The people of Ishara (Pointing) sought
Allah upon the infinitely ancient power/energy i.e. Allah
pointed at them from Qidam or infinite past.
تفسير حقائق التفسير/ السلمي (ت 412 هـ)
قال أبو سعيد الخراز: تفرق الطالبون عند قوله: من طلبنى
وجدنى على سبل شتى: أولهم أهل الإشارات طلبوه على ما سبق من
قوة الإشارة وهم أهل قدم صدق عند ربهم فبالقدم أشار إليهم،
فهل أهل الطوالع والإشارات حظهم منه ذلك.
We are all
fossils
of a great creature Allah engineered in infinite past, in its
full glory and functionality, and what you see of our being in
this form, is indeed a
fossil,
instead of being comprised of hard rock, an ensemble of organic
substances and water, nonetheless a fossil!