32 Preface وَإِذ قالُوا اللَّهُمَّ إِن كانَ هٰذا هُوَ الحَقَّ مِن عِندِكَ فَأَمطِر عَلَينا حِجارَةً مِنَ السَّماءِ أَوِ ائتِنا بِعَذابٍ أَليمٍYusuf AliRemember how they said: “O God if this is indeed the Truth from Thee, rain down on us a shower of stones form the sky, or send us a grievous Penalty.”1This was actually a challenge thrown out by the Infidels in Mecca, not seriously but as a taunt. The answer is in the two following verses. God punishes in His own good rime, not according to the foolish and frivolous taunts of the unbelievers. While the Holy Prophet was with them, he-the Mercy for the Worlds-conferred a certain amount of immunity to them. There were also other Muslims, just men who asked for forgiveness. And God keeps the door of repentance and forgiveness open to all as long as they make it possible. But let them not be puffed up with pride, or think that they have lasting immunity. What became of Abū Jahl? He and some of his greatest warriors were slain at Badr. The little autocratic clique that prevented Muslims from access to the Sacred Mosque had their Nemesis not long afterwards. They pretended to be its guardians. But were they? Could they be? Only the righteous could be true guardians to God’s places of worship, and particularly to the Central House of the Ka‘ba. It was to be a place of pure worship, while their idolatrous worship was mere mummerywhistling and clapping of hands. All false worship advertises itself by noise and unseemly riot: it is said that the Pagans used to go naked round the Ka‘ba.