﴿10–11﴾ “Have they not traveled through the land and seen what became of those before them? Allah brought utter destruction upon them, and the disbelievers will meet the like thereof. That is because Allah is the Protector of those who believe, whereas the disbelievers have no protector.”

That is: Will those who deny the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—not travel through the land “and see what became of those before them”? They will find that their end was nothing but the worst of ends. Whichever way they look, right or left, they will find that the peoples around them vanished and perished, utterly uprooted by their denial and disbelief. They were extinguished, and Allah destroyed their wealth and homes; indeed, He brought their deeds and schemes to ruin. In every time and place, the disbelievers will meet ends just as grievous and punishments just as dreadful.

As for the believers, Allah Most High delivers them from punishment and grants them an abundant reward.

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“That is because Allah is the Protector of those who believe”: He takes them into His care through His mercy, brings them out of darkness into light, and assumes responsibility for rewarding and supporting them. “Whereas the disbelievers” in Allah Most High—having severed themselves from Allah’s protection and barred themselves from His mercy—“have no protector” to guide them to the ways of peace or deliver them from Allah’s torment and punishment. Rather, their protectors are false deities, who bring them out of light into darkness. Those are the inhabitants of the Fire, wherein they will abide forever.