And when that was the case, perhaps it would lead the listener to say: Why did the All-Powerful not accept from one whose condition is such towards good? He answered by saying that He created them from the very beginning - and He has the right to do in His dominion what He wills - with an innate disposition towards corruption. He made their essences wicked, like the essence of a scorpion that does not accept discipline in any way and does not pass by anything except that it stings it. So, He, glorified and exalted is He, knew that there was no good in them, so He left them as He knew of them. And if Allah had known, meaning: He who has all perfection, that there was good in them, meaning: acceptance of good, He would have made them hear, meaning: a hearing that is followed by a continuous response. And when Allah's knowledge, exalted is He, is encompassing, it must know all that has occurred. Thus, the absence of His knowledge of the existence of a thing is one of the necessities of its non-existence. Therefore, the decree here is: But He did not know of any good in them, rather He knew that there was no good in them, so He did not make them hear this hearing. And if He had made them hear, while they were in this state of unacceptance of good, it would have forced them into a response. They would have turned away, meaning: after their response, while they were turning away, meaning: their turning away is established, returning on their heels. They did not remain in their response due to what they were created with from compatibility with evil and distance from good. They did not desire Islam and its people after their inclination except with weakness, just as it was for the people of apostasy who were killed, returning after they had entered into Islam out of fear of the sword and desire for wealth, which is from the valley of: 'And if they were returned, they would return to what they were forbidden from' [Al-An'am: 28]. For the knowledge of Allah, exalted is He, has four categories: the totality of existents, the totality of non-existents, and that each one of the existents, if it were non-existent, how would its state be? And that each one of the non-existents, if it were existent, how would its state be? The first two categories are knowledge of reality, and the last two are knowledge of destiny. The verse is from the last category. By my life, we have been pushed to a time in which the majority of those in it are close to this matter, the boldest of people towards falsehood, the most steadfast in its pursuit, the most expansive in their rope to reach it, and the most cowardly when called to the truth, and the quickest to retreat when it comes to taking action after great effort on it, and the most stubborn in arguing for it. Thus, what was decreed has become a fixed reality and existence. And the word: 'If' here may be that which a matter is contingent upon another that is contrary to it, and it is more appropriate. The intended meaning is that the contingent, which is the second, is always existent, like the saying of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: 'What a good servant is Suhayb! If he did not fear Allah, he would not disobey Him.' The intended meaning here is that if they were to turn away with hearing and response, then their turning away without them is more appropriate. Al-Razi pointed this out, and it may be that it is at the door of the two parts after it being negated. The negation of turning away is only good if it arises from the hearing that is contingent upon the knowledge of good in them. As for its absence due to the absence of making them hear the described hearing because there is no good in them, then it is not good in anything, but rather it is pure evil. The negation of turning away from them is not that which exists in them, but rather it is the one that arises from the described hearing, so it does not contradict the claim of their stubbornness and their lack of submission. Its realization is that the negated is merely the increase of turning away that arises from the hearing. The meaning is: And if He had made them hear, they would have increased in turning away. Thus, the negation in this context is that increase. And Allah is the Grantor of success.