—punishment (1) for the way they misled us and turned us from obeying Your messengers.

Allah, exalted is He, will say, ‘Each will have a double share’—both the followers and those who were followed, each in proportion to his own deviation and disbelief.

‘But you do not realize it.’ 38 Each party is unaware of the doubled torment that awaits its counterpart.

Then the first of them will say to the last of them, ‘You had no advantage over us,’ for you came after us: messengers were sent to you, they clarified the truth, warned you against our misguidance, and forbade you to follow and imitate us. Yet you insisted on following and imitating us, abandoning the truth that the messengers brought. What superiority did you have over us? You went astray just as we did and left the truth just as we left it. You were led astray by us just as we had been led astray by others—so what advantage did you have over us? (2) ‘Taste the punishment for what you used to earn.’ 39

By Allah, what a healing admonition this is, what an eloquent counsel—if only it were to meet hearts that are alive! These verses (3) and others like them are reminders (4) to the hearts of those journeying toward Allah, whereas the grief-stricken idlers (5) have no awareness of any of this. (6)