i.e., he frightens you with his allies—as the majority of the scholars have explained. Then He said:

“And let not those who rush headlong into disbelief grieve you; they will never harm Allah in the least.” ⦗Āl ʿImrān 176⦘

The thread of the passage is to show that the disbelievers can neither harm Allah nor His believing servants; the harm falls back only on themselves. Whatever prosperity they presently enjoy is nothing but a gradual enticement (istidraj) and a reprieve (imlā’) until He said:

“Allah has certainly heard the statement of those who said, ‘Allah is poor and we are rich.’ We shall record what they said, along with their killing of the prophets without right, and We shall say, ‘Taste the punishment of the Blaze.’” ⦗Āl ʿImrān 181⦘ (181)

“That is for what your own hands have sent ahead, and Allah is never unjust to His servants.” ⦗Āl ʿImrān 182⦘ (182)

“Those who said, ‘Allah has covenanted with us that we are not to believe in any messenger until he brings us an offering consumed by fire.’ Say, ‘Messengers before me did come to you with clear proofs and with what you have demanded, so why did you kill them, if you are truthful?’” ⦗Āl ʿImrān 183⦘

He, exalted be He, made plain that this claim of theirs, despite being a blatant lie, was voiced only to fend off the truth, not because they meant to believe in whoever might bring them that proof, for messengers had already come to them from