should come upon them by night while they were asleep? Or have the people of the towns felt secure that Our punishment would come upon them in broad daylight while they were playing? So do they feel safe from Allah’s plan? None feels safe from Allah’s plan except the losers.¹

The meaning of these verses is that, after portraying the condition of the townsfolk who rejected the messengers and persisted in disbelief and sin, Allah explains that what emboldened them was their sense of security from His plan and their lack of fear of Him. Allah’s plan (makr) is that when a servant angers Him through disobedience, He still grants the servant blessings that the latter mistakes for signs of divine approval, whereas in reality they are only a gradual enticement toward destruction. These unbelievers felt safe from Allah’s plan when He lured them with prosperity and comfort; they disobeyed their messengers and persisted in sin until Allah destroyed them. He then warned those who come after them not to follow their example, lest the same fate befall them, saying: “Has it not become clear to those who inherit the earth after its former people that, if We will, We can afflict them for their sins and seal their hearts so they do not hear?”²

Some scholars have said that a servant’s fear arises from three considerations:

1. His awareness of the offence itself and its repulsiveness.
2. His belief in the threat—that Allah has assigned a specific punishment to every sin.
3. His uncertainty; he does not know but that he may be prevented from repenting and barred from it once the sin is committed.

These three factors complete the fear, both before and after the sin, and make it more intense.

The prophets, peace be upon them, never allowed their hope in Allah to cease, nor did they ever despair of His mercy in any circumstance, no matter how severe the trial or how weak the apparent means. Thus, when the Friend of Allah, Abraham—peace be upon him—was given the glad tidings of a son despite his advanced age and the condition of his wife, which seemingly precluded childbirth, he said on that occasion: “And who despairs…"