(1) Al-Tabari, 13:517: “The soundest of these views, in my opinion, is that of those who interpret it as: ‘Allah would not punish them while you, O Muhammad, were among them and residing in their midst, until I removed you from among them; for I do not destroy a town while its prophet is in it. Nor would Allah punish them while they sought forgiveness’ for their sins and disbelief. Yet they do not seek forgiveness for this; rather, they persist in it and thus deserve punishment. Then it is said: ‘What is the matter with them, and what prevents Allah from punishing them, while they bar the believers in Allah and His Messenger from the Sacred Mosque and do not seek Allah’s forgiveness for their disbelief so that they may believe in Him?’”