used to say to him, “Return to the religion of your forefathers, for they were better than you.” So He—exalted is His mention—said:

“Indeed, they will never avail you against Allah in any way.”

“Indeed, they will never avail you against Allah in any way. The wrongdoers are allies of one another, but Allah is the Protector of the righteous. This Quran is an enlightenment for mankind, and guidance and mercy for a people who are certain in faith. Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds—the same in their life and their death? Evil indeed is what they judge. And Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth, so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.”

“Indeed, they will never avail you against Allah in any way”: that is, they will not ward off from you any part of Allah’s punishment (1) if you follow their desires. “The wrongdoers are allies of one another, but Allah is the Protector of the righteous.”

“This”—meaning the Quran—“is an enlightenment for mankind”: signs for mankind (2) by which they may perceive the prescribed limits and rulings; “and guidance and mercy for a people who are certain in faith.”

“Or do those who commit evil deeds think”—rather, they think (3)—that “those who commit evil deeds,” who acquire sins and disbelief, “will be made like those who believe and do righteous deeds”? This was revealed concerning a group of the idolaters of Makkah, who said to the believers, “If what you say is true, we will surely be given preference over you in the Hereafter just as we have been given preference over you in this world.” (4)

“The same in their life”: Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, Hafs, and Ya‘qub recited “the same” in the accusative, meaning: We will make them equal. That is, do they think that the life and death of the disbelievers are equal to the life and death of the believers? Certainly not. The others recited it in the nominative, as the subject and predicate: their life and death are the same. The pronoun in both refers to believers and disbelievers alike. Its meaning is that the believer remains a believer in his life and in his death—that is, in this world and in the Hereafter—and the disbeliever remains a disbeliever in this world and in the Hereafter. “Evil indeed is what they judge”: how evil is their judgment.

Masruq said: A man from the people of Makkah said to me, “This is the place where your brother Tamim al-Dari used to stand. One night, I saw him until morning—or nearly until morning—reciting a verse from the Book of Allah, bowing and prostrating over it and weeping.” (5) “Or do those who commit evil deeds think that We will make them like those who believe and do righteous deeds”—the verse.

“And Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth, so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.”