And when He, glorified and exalted is He, compared their matter in their obedience to Ibn Ubayy and those with him, who are the distant ones burning due to the expulsion of the believers from them by the expulsion of Allah and the burning of their hearts for that, along with what He has prepared for them in the Hereafter regarding the matter of Banu Qaynuqa, He likened the story of all to the story of the devil and those who obeyed him from among humans and jinn. He said, clarifying the meaning of what he concluded with at the end of the speech: ﴿Like the example of﴾ that is, the example of all those who promise victory and are deceived by their promise while they know that Allah has decreed in the scripture ﴿I will surely overcome, I and My messengers﴾ [Al-Mujadila: 21] in their breaking of the promise and their submission to them when the matter is established. This resembles the example of ﴿the devil﴾, that is, the one far from all good due to his distance from Allah, burning with His punishment. And the devil here is like the hypocrites ﴿when he said to man﴾, that is, to everyone who has anxiety and turmoil, and here he is like the Jews: ﴿Disbelieve﴾, that is, in Allah, by what [he has adorned] for him and whispered to him of following desires that take the place of the command.

And when man, by what helps the beautification of Satan upon him from his desires, fortunes, and morals, often obeys his command, he said: ﴿So when he disbelieved﴾ meaning he brought forth disbelief in any form it may take. The letter 'fa' indicates his hastiness in following the beautification of it. ﴿He said﴾ meaning the devil, who here represents the hypocrites, confirming for one who is attached to one who assured him of a promise of something from sincere reliance upon it and the denial that he will abandon him: ﴿Indeed, I am free of you﴾ meaning there is no relationship between me and you in anything at all, thinking that this disavowal will benefit him in something of what the commanded one is required to accept of his command. And that is a metaphor indicating that he acted with him by turning away from him and persisting in everything that indicates neglect of him, like the one who confirmed disavowal from him. And that is as the hypocrites acted with the Jews: they incited them to a matter that is prohibited, which is residing in their land. So when they declared war, hoping for their victory, the hypocrites, by their delay from them, acted like one who disavows them. This was more severe upon them than if they had not encouraged them in their victory, because this is like their defeat from them from the line that necessitates their defeat without a doubt. Then he justified the disavowal by saying: ﴿Indeed, I fear Allah﴾ meaning the King who has no command for anyone with Him, so His might cannot be resisted. Then he explained that by saying: ﴿Lord of the worlds﴾ meaning the One who created them from nothing and nurtured them by what indicates all of the most beautiful names and the highest attributes. So no one among His creation can benefit another in anything except by His permission, and He does not forgive at all for one who disparages His Lordship, especially if he attributes it to others. This is like what a person finds after falling into sin from regret and confusion. So if he finds that and intends to repent, he beautifies for him the sin and makes the matter of repentance difficult for him and burdens him, and encourages him towards the sin itself or towards something greater than it. And he will continue like that until it becomes impossible for him to return, and his destruction and the destruction of the one who led him to it becomes a reality. Therefore, he caused him to say: