And when He mentioned His kindness to them, and His blessings upon them, He mentioned what they displayed of their disbelief in the place of their gratitude. He said: ﴿And when it is said to them﴾, meaning these who are immersed in His blessings, and He nourishes them with His grace and generosity, from any speaker: ﴿Prostrate﴾, meaning humble yourselves in prayer and otherwise ﴿to the Most Merciful﴾, the One from whom you have no blessing except from Him. ﴿They said﴾ a proud and arrogant saying, as has been previously explained in the meaning of ﴿a supporter﴾ [Al-Furqan: 55]. ﴿And what is the Most Merciful﴾, ignoring His knowledge, let alone their disbelief in His blessings, expressing with words that do not convey understanding. Ibn al-Arabi said: They either expressed this as a reference to their ignorance of the attribute, without the described.

Then they were astonished by His matter, denying Him, by saying: ﴿Shall we prostrate to what you command us﴾? They expressed this after their ignorance of His command and their denial of the one calling to it, also with words that do not convey understanding. ﴿And this clear matter, which necessitates acceptance and tranquility, in gratitude for the blessings and in hope for increase, ﴾increased for them﴾ their aversion due to what they possess of the satanic heat that urges them strongly. There is no aversion that equals this aversion, nor any blame more eloquent than it.