And when He, glorified and exalted is He, narrated what they said to the guardians in regret for themselves, He narrated what they said afterwards among themselves as an increase in their sorrow and a blame for themselves by themselves. So He, the Exalted, said: ﴿And they said﴾, meaning the disbelievers in reproach of themselves: ﴿If we had been﴾, meaning with what is innate to us. When hearing is the greatest of the faculties of reason, which is the basis of obligation, they said: ﴿We hear﴾, meaning a hearing that benefits by accepting the truth and rejecting falsehood, ﴿or we understand﴾, meaning with what the sense of hearing and others have led us to, a reasoning that saves, even if there is no hearing. They limited the two actions to indicate that what they had from hearing and understanding was a lack, as it did not prevent them from this calamity by accepting from the messengers what they reminded them of from the advice of their Lord and the testimony of the witnesses from the clear signs. ﴿We would not have been﴾, meaning a continuous being ﴿among the companions of the blazing fire﴾, meaning in the number of those for whom the fire has been prepared, which is in the utmost of burning, heat, and blazing, until it is as if there is madness in it. And He decreed their eternity in its companionship. The greatest aspect of this punishment is that they were compelled to directly engage in reproaching themselves and blaming themselves by themselves, that He does not accept from them a departure from the norm in this world, that when a person shows submission by confessing and blaming himself and being fair, he is shown mercy and accepted. And in this verse is the greatest virtue for reason. Ibn al-Muhabbar narrated in the Book of Reason, and al-Harith from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Everything has a support, and the support of the believer is his reason. According to the extent of his reason will be his worship. Did you not hear the saying of the wicked: ﴿If we had been hearing or understanding, we would not have been among the companions of the blazing fire﴾."