then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved.” Thus, He described them as disbelieving after believing and believing after disbelieving. He also stated that those who disbelieved are disbelievers, and that if they desist, their past sins will be forgiven. He said:

“So when they angered Us, We took vengeance upon them.”

And He said:

“That is because they followed what angered Allah and disliked what pleased Him, so He rendered their deeds worthless.”

In the two Sahīh collections, in the hadith of intercession, the prophets say:

“My Lord has become angry as He has never been before and will never be again.”

The pilgrims’ supplication at al-Multazam, reported from Ibn Abbās and others, includes:

“If You have been pleased with me, then increase Your pleasure with me; otherwise, be pleased with me from now on.”

Some omitted “be pleased with me,” so some jurists thought that min in “fa-min al-ān” (“then from now”) derived from al-mann (“bestowing favor”). This is a textual misreading. It is simply the preposition min (“from”), as the complete wording makes clear: “Otherwise, be pleased with me from now on.” This shows that His pleasure increases and that He becomes pleased at a particular time. There is abundant evidence for this, and it has been discussed at length elsewhere.

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Parallel to the interpretation of “Say, ‘O disbelievers’” are the two interpretations of His words:

“Indeed, those who disbelieve—it is all the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.”

People hold two views concerning this verse.