— (1) Allah singled it out for mention in terms of minuteness, so He informed that He is not timid to set forth the smallest and most insignificant of examples concerning the truth, as well as the highest without limit in magnitude, as a response from Him—majestic is His mention—to those among the hypocrites of His creation who denied the example He struck for them with the kindler of fire and the rainstorm from the sky, according to how He described both of them.

If someone were to say to us: Where is the mention of the hypocrites' denial of the examples you described, to which this report is the response, so that we may know that the correct view regarding that is what you said?

It is said: The proof of that is clear in the statement of Allah—exalted is His mention (2)—: “As for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, 'What did Allah intend by this as an example?'” And the people for whom He struck the examples in the two preceding verses—in which He exemplified what the hypocrites are engaged in (3) with the kindler of fire and with the rainstorm from the sky (4), according to what He described of that before His statement: “Indeed, Allah is not timid to set forth an example”—had indeed denied the example and said: “What did Allah intend by this as an example?” Thus, He—exalted is His mention—clarified to them the error of their statement, condemned what they uttered, and informed them of the ruling concerning their saying what they said, and that it is misguidance and transgression, and that what is right and guidance is what the believers said, not what they said.

As for the interpretation of His statement: “Indeed, Allah is not timid,” some of those attributed to knowledge of the Arabic language used to interpret the meaning of “Indeed, Allah is not timid” as: Indeed, Allah does not fear to set forth an example, citing as evidence for that the statement of Allah Almighty: {and you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you should fear Him} [Surah al-Aḥzāb: 37], claiming that the meaning of that is: and you are timid before the people, while Allah has more right that you should be timid before Him—so he says: timidity is in the sense of fear, and fear is in the sense of timidity. (5)