(22) “Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is guided by a light from his Lord, [like one whose heart rejects it]? Then woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah! They are in manifest misguidance.”

That is: Can one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam—so that it is spacious enough to receive Allah’s rulings and act upon them, doing so with an open and contented heart and with clear insight, as meant by His words, “so that he is guided by a light from his Lord”—be equal to one who is not so? That he cannot is indicated by His words: “Then woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah!” That is, their hearts are not softened by His Book, they do not take heed of His verses, and they find no tranquility in remembering Him. Rather, they turn away from their Lord and toward others. Severe woe and immense evil therefore await them.

“They are in manifest misguidance.” What misguidance could be greater than that of one who turns away from his Protector—the One in turning to whom lies all happiness—whose heart hardens against His remembrance, and who turns instead to everything that harms him?