127 Preface وَإِذا ما أُنزِلَت سورَةٌ نَظَرَ بَعضُهُم إِلىٰ بَعضٍ هَل يَراكُم مِن أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انصَرَفوا ۚ صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلوبَهُم بِأَنَّهُم قَومٌ لا يَفقَهونَYusuf AliWhenever there cometh down a Sūra, they look at each other, (saying), “Doth anyone see you?” Then they turn aside: God hath turned their hearts1 (from the light); for they are a people that understand not.Even the Unbelievers, in their hearts and conscience, feel uncomfortable when they turn aside from Faith and Truth, and therefore their turning aside is figured by furtive glances, such as we may suppose literally to have been cast by the Hypocrites in the assemblies of the Holy Prophet. Then they slink away feeling superior in their minds. And yet, if they only knew it, their contumacy deprives them of God’s grace and light. They are turning Grace away, and when God withdraws it altogether, they perish utterly.