And His words: “Among the people is he who says, ‘We believe in Allah,’ yet when he is harmed for Allah’s sake he takes the persecution of men as though it were the punishment of Allah.”
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The remainder of the verse reads: “But if help comes to you from your Lord, they will surely say, ‘We were indeed with you.’ Is not Allah fully aware of what is in the breasts of all created beings?” (Al-‘Ankabūt 29:10).

Among the people: that is, some people.
Who say, We believe in Allah: i.e., they merely profess faith with their tongues.
Is harmed for Allah: on account of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
The persecution of men: their harm and the unpleasant treatment they inflict upon him.
As though it were the punishment of Allah: he treats the harm people inflict on him for holding fast to his religion as equal to the punishment Allah would inflict were he to abandon that religion; thus he flees the pain of human persecution only to incur Allah’s punishment, apostatizing from his faith.
Help from your Lord: victory and spoils.
We were indeed with you: in the religion—so let us share in the booty.
What is in the breasts of all created beings: what their hearts contain of faith and hypocrisy.

Overall meaning of the verse: Allah informs us that a person who enters Islam without clear insight—when faced with trial and harm from the unbelievers—treats that harm, which the messengers and their followers must inevitably suffer from those who oppose them, as though it were Allah’s punishment. He therefore flees from it, abandoning the very cause for which he was harmed, equating it with the torment from which the true believers flee. By leaving his religion he escapes the pain inflicted by Allah’s enemies only to fall into Allah’s own punishment, seeking refuge from the scorching heat only to plunge into the fire. Then, when Allah grants victory to His troops and His friends, he says, “I was with you,” while Allah knows full well what