10في قُلوبِهِم مَرَضٌ فَزادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُم عَذابٌ أَليمٌ بِما كانوا يَكذِبونَMuhammad AsadIn their hearts is disease, and so God lets their disease increase; and grievous suffering awaits them because of their persistent lying.1i.e., before God and man - and to themselves. It is generally assumed that the people to whom this passage alludes in the first instance are the hypocrites of Medina who, during the early years after the hijrah, outwardly professed their adherence to Islam while remaining inwardly unconvinced of the truth of Muhammad's message. However, as is always the case with Quranic allusions to contemporary or historical events, the above and the following verses have a general, timeless import inasmuch as they refer to all people who are prone to deceive themselves in order to evade a spiritual commitment.