Transliteration:( Qaala famaa baalul quroonil oolaa )
58. This means the condition of the people of Aad and Thamud. Pharaoh wanted to turn the attention of Hazrat Musa (On whom be peace) from propagation to one of mere story telling, so that the people would not become influenced by his prophetic message. For this reason he did not give any reply to his question. but instead he evaded it and continued with the preaching.
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The tafsir of Surah Ta-Ha verse 51 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Taha ayat 49 which provides the complete commentary from verse 49 through 52.
(20:51) Pharaoh asked: “Then, what is the state of the former generations?”[24]
24. The question posed by Pharaoh was very subtle. He meant to say: If there is no other lord than the One Who has given a distinctive form to everyone, then what will be the position of our forefathers who had been worshiping other deities since centuries? Were all those people in error? Did all of them deserve torment? Did they all lack common sense? Thus Pharaoh perhaps wanted to give vent to his anger against Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) for showing disrespect to his forefathers. At the same time he also wanted to incite his courtiers and the common people of Egypt against the message of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). And this trick has always been used against the people who propagate the truth and has always proved very effective to incite those people who lack common sense. This same trick has been mentioned here for it was being employed at the very time against the Prophet (peace be upon him) by the people of Makkah.
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