therein is evidence that the signs of Allah, exalted is He, and the wonders He has enacted in this world—whose remains He has left as proofs of Himself and of the truthfulness of His messengers—benefit only the one who believes in the al-maʿād (Resurrection) and fears Allah’s punishment. As He, Most High, says elsewhere: “Indeed, in that is a sign for whoever fears the punishment of the Hereafter” (1), and He says: “He who fears will take heed (10)” (2).

For the person who does not believe in the Hereafter can only say, “These were people struck by the passage of time just as others have been; time has always carried within it both misery (3) and happiness.” But whoever believes in the Hereafter and dreads it is the one who truly benefits from the signs and admonitions.

The purpose of all this is merely to provide an illustration and a reminder (4) of the differing capacities to understand the Quran, to extract its secrets, and to uncover (5) its treasures. Apply this example to everything else, and remember that bounty is in the hand of Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills.

Section

The point is that when the heart set out on this journey it looked for a companion to keep it company, yet it found (6) nothing but an opponent who contradicted it, or a reproacher who censured it.