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wa-lā yaḥsabanna lladhīna kafarū ʾannamā numlī lahum khayrun li-ʾanfusihim ʾinnamā numlī lahum li-yazdādū ʾithman wa-lahum ʿadhābun muhīnun
Let the faithless not suppose that the respite that We grant them is good for their souls: We give them respite only that they may increase in sin, and there is a humiliating punishment for them.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah 'Ali-Imran, Verse 178
178. "And let not those who disbelieve think that Our giving them respite is good for their selves; We give respite to them only that they may increase in sin; and that they will have an abasing torment."
The Qur'an has repeatedly applied the phrase / la yahsabanna/ (they do not think) about infidels, hypocrites, and the persons whose Faith is weak. This is because these persons are deprived from insight, proper analysis, good intellect, and necessary clear mind. They think that creation is vain, martyrdom is annihilation, the world is permanent, and honour is a supreme good. The Qur'an has rejected all these imaginations in different occurrences.
Sometimes, the disbelievers consider having possibilities, victories and welfare as a sign of their own eligibility, while Allah respites them upon their stubbornness towards His Essence and upon their being polluted by infidelity and corruption in order that they dive deep in their destruction. The history details that when Yazid, the kalif of the time, had Imam Hussayn (as) slain, the house-hold members of the Imam, including Hadrat Zaynab Kubra (as), were taken to Syria as captures. In his meeting, Yazid proudly addressed Hadrat Zaynab (as) and said:
"Did you see that Allah is with us?"
In answer to him, Zaynab (as) recited this very verse, and added:
"I know your rank low and little and it is deserving for any despising. Do whatever you wish, but by Allah, beware that you cannot quench the light of Allah', (our remembrance)."
Yes, for such luxurious people, the abasing torment has been prepared in order that their imaginary worldly honour be accompanied with abasement and degradation in the Hereafter. However, criminals are divided into two groups: One group are those who are improvable, and Allah warns and awakens them by admonition, and by pleasant and unpleasant events. The second group are those who are not guidable. Allah leaves them alone to themselves so that all their eligibilities of corruption appear. That is why Imam Baqir (as) in explanation of this verse said:
Explanations
1. Respites are not counted as a sign of being loved.
2. Bounties are useful when they are used alongside the path of right, rectitude, and goodness.
3. The length of life is not important, gaining good advantages of life is important.
In the supplication Makarim-ul-Akhlaq 'the Moral Characteristics' Imam Sajjad (as) invokes:
4. Do not hasten in judgement; consider the conclusion and the coming world, too.
5. The welfare and authority of the tyrants is not the sign of their rightfulness and the pleasure of Allah upon them. However, it is not a reason for us to be silent before them, either.
Footnotes