anything, he makes a mockery of them. For such people there is a humiliating punishment.”

“We have sent down clear signs, and for the disbelievers there is a humiliating punishment.”

“They have taken their oaths as a shield and barred others from Allah’s path, so for them there is a humiliating punishment.”

As for His statement, Exalted is He:

“Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him into a Fire, abiding therein forever, and for him there is a humiliating punishment.”

This concerns—and Allah knows best—someone who denies the prescribed obligations and treats them with contempt. Moreover, He did not state that the punishment had been prepared for him.

A great punishment, however, has been mentioned as a warning to believers in His statement:

“Had it not been for a prior decree from Allah, a great punishment would have touched you for what you took.”

And His statement:

“Were it not for Allah’s bounty upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, a great punishment would have touched you for what you engaged in.”

Concerning the one who wages war, He says:

“That is a disgrace for them in this world, and for them in the Hereafter there is a great punishment.”

Concerning the murderer:

“Allah is angry with him, has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great punishment.”

And His statement:

“Do not use your oaths to deceive one another, lest a foot slip after being firmly planted, and you taste the evil consequences of having barred others from Allah’s path, and for you there is a great punishment.”

He, Glorified is He, has also said:

“Whomever Allah humiliates, none can honour.”

This is because humiliation entails abasement, contempt and disgrace—something beyond the pain of punishment itself. An honourable man may be punished without being humiliated. Thus, when He says in this verse:

“And He has prepared for them a humiliating punishment,”

it is clear that this belongs to the same kind of punishment with which He has threatened the disbelievers and hypocrites. But when He says in the other passage: “And for them there is a punishment