“You are not over them a controller, except whoever turns away and disbelieves—you are a controller over them.” This, however, is not the case. Rather, the meaning is: But whoever turns away and disbelieves after you have reminded him, Allah will punish him with the greatest punishment. Thus, whoever turns away and disbelieves after the revelation sent down to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has reached him will be punished.

“Except whoever turns away and disbelieves.” Turning away means rejecting the truth: he neither turns toward it, accepts it, nor listens to it. Even if he hears it with his ears, he does not hear it with his heart. Allah Most High said:

“O you who believe, obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not turn away from him while you are listening. And do not be like those who say, ‘We have heard,’ though they do not hear” [al-Anfāl: 20–21].

That is, they do not submit. Here Allah—Glorious and Exalted—says: “Except whoever turns away and disbelieves.” “Turns away” means that he rejects the truth, while “disbelieves” means that he acts arrogantly and refuses to accept what the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—brought. “Allah will punish him with the greatest punishment.” The greatest punishment will be on the Day of Resurrection.

Here He said “the greatest” without mentioning what it is greater than; that is, He did not say, “greater than such-and-such.” It has therefore reached the utmost degree of enormity, severity, and humiliation. Allah will punish everyone who turns away and disbelieves with the greatest punishment.

There is also a lesser punishment in this world. One who turns away and rejects the truth may be afflicted with illness in his body or mind, or with affliction in his family, wealth, or community. Yet all of this is a lesser punishment in comparison with the punishment of the Fire. The greatest punishment will only occur on the Day of Resurrection. He therefore says immediately afterward: “Indeed, to Us is their return”—that is, their final destination. No matter how much a person tries to flee, he will return to his Lord—Glorious and Exalted. However long he may live, he is returning to Allah. Allah Most High therefore said:

“O man, you are laboring toward your Lord with great exertion, and you will meet Him” [al-Inshiqāq: 6].

So prepare yourself, my brother, for this meeting, for you will meet your Lord. The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—said: “There is none among you except that his Lord will speak to him, with no interpreter between them—directly and without an interpreter, Allah will speak to him on the Day of Resurrection. He will look to his right and see nothing except what he sent ahead, and he will look to his left—meaning, toward the left—and see nothing except