into their ears out of dread of the speech of the Messenger of God, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, lest something be revealed concerning them, or they be mentioned in connection with something so they would be killed." If that is authentic—and I do not know it to be authentic, since I am doubtful about its chain of transmission—then the view narrated from them both is the view (1). But if it is not authentic, then the most fitting interpretation of the verse is what we have said, because God only recounted to us of their story at the very beginning of their account (2) that they deceive God, His Messenger, and the believers by their statement: "We believe in God and in the Last Day," alongside the doubt in their hearts and the disease in their minds regarding the reality of what they claimed to believe in of that which the Messenger of God, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, brought to them from their Lord. With that He described them in all the verses of the Qur'an in which He mentioned their description. Likewise, it is the same in this verse.

God only made their placing their fingers in their ears a parable for their guarding against the Messenger of God, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, and the believers by what we have mentioned that they guard against them with, just as one who hears the sound of a thunderbolt guards against it by placing his fingers in his ears. That part of the parable is analogous to God's—Exalted be His praise—likening of the threat He sent down concerning them in the verses of His Book to the sounds of thunderbolts. Likewise, His statement: {"in dread of death"}, Exalted be His praise, He made a parable for their fear and apprehension of the arrival of immediate, destructive punishment that they were threatened with in their domain (3), just as one who hears the sounds of thunderbolts places his fingers in his ears in dread of destruction and death for himself, lest his soul depart from their intensity.

His statement {"in dread of death"} was put in the accusative case in the same manner that "as an honor" is accusative in your saying: "I visited you as an honor to you," meaning thereby: for the sake of honoring you, and just as He, Exalted be His praise, said: {and they used to call upon Us in hope and fear} [Surah al-Anbiya': 90], as an explanation for the action (4).

It has been narrated from Qatāda that he used to interpret His statement: {"in dread of death"} as being cautious of death.