seeing the painful punishment, as with Pharaoh’s faith, mentioned earlier. Moses had prayed against him, saying:

“Our Lord, destroy their wealth and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.”

“He said, ‘The prayer of you both has been answered.’”

But when He, glorified be He, speaks of disbelievers without qualification, this is like His words, “Even if We sent down the angels to them,” and the rest of the verse. He thus makes clear that they may believe if He wills. The verse in al-Baqarah is unqualified and general. At the beginning of the surah, He mentions four verses describing the believers, two describing the disbelievers, and ten-odd verses describing the hypocrites. He explains the condition of the disbeliever who persists in his disbelief: warning does not benefit him because of the barriers over his heart, hearing, and sight.

He did not say, “Allah will not guide any of these people so that he listens and accepts.” Rather, while he is a disbeliever, the verse does not apply to him.

This is analogous to saying of a disbeliever with belligerent status: “No covenant of protection may be concluded with him, nor can he ever be among the inhabitants of the abode of Islam, so long as he retains his belligerent status.” Disbelievers remain in this condition as long as they remain disbelievers. They have impediments that prevent them from believing, just as hypocrites have impediments that prevent them as long as they remain in that condition, even if they are warned. This is like His words:

“The example of those who disbelieve is like that of one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries. Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they do not understand.”

This, then, is the likeness of every disbeliever as long as he remains a disbeliever.