in the immediate worldly life with the ruling of the Muslims: regarding the sparing of blood and wealth, safety for offspring from captivity, marriage, and inheritance—is as the parable of the one kindling a fire seeking light from the fire, until when he enjoyed its light and saw what was around him, seeking light through its illumination from the darkness, the fire went out and was extinguished, (1) so its light departed, and the one seeking light by it returned to darkness and confusion.

That is because the hypocrite continued seeking light through the brightness of the statement by which he fended off killing and captivity during his life, while concealing inwardly that which would have necessitated killing and confiscation of wealth had he declared it with his tongue—his soul imagining thereby that he was mocking and deceiving Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, until his soul enticed him—when he came before his Lord in the Hereafter—that he would be saved from Him by the like of that through which he was saved in the world, namely lying and hypocrisy. Do you not hear Allah—exalted be His praise—saying when He described them and then informed of their news when coming before Him: {On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all together, and they will swear to Him as they swear to you and think that they are upon something. Unquestionably, it is they who are the liars} [Surat al-Mujādilah: 18], as an assumption on the part of the people that their salvation from Allah's punishment in the Hereafter would be through the like of what saved them from killing, captivity, and confiscation of wealth in the world (2): from lying and falsehood, and that their deception would benefit them there as it benefited them in the world, until they witnessed of Allah's decree what made them certain that they were in delusion and error from their assumptions, mocking themselves and deceiving, when Allah extinguished their light on the Day of Resurrection, and they asked the believers for time so they might acquire some of their light, whereupon it was said to them: "Return behind you and seek light," and enter a Blazing Fire. That was when Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to see, just as the fire of the one kindling a fire was extinguished after illuminating for him, so he remained in his darkness confused and lost, as Allah—exalted be His praise—says: {On the Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire}