“Do the evil-doers suppose that they will get the better of Us? How evil is their judgement!”
(Al Qur’ān – 29:4)
This ayah has universal import and embraces all those who are disobedient of God. Nonetheless, it is especially directed at the oppressive Quraysh chiefs, Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, AbūJahl, ‘Utbah, Shaybah, ‘Uqbah ibn AbīMu‘ayṭ and Ḥanẓalah ibn Wā’il, who relentlessly opposed Islam and persecuted the Muslims. The context demanded that alongside exhorting the Muslims to show steadfastness, patience and fortitude in the face of persecution, words of reproach and censure also be directed at those guilty of perpetrating excesses on the votaries of Truth.
This might also be taken to mean that the unbelievers fancy that God will not be able to seize them. The Arabic expression used in the text, however, literally means: “They will get the better of Allah.” This could mean either of two things. One, that the unbelievers are of the view that what God wants – the success of the Prophet’s mission – will not come to pass, and what they themselves want – to reduce the Prophet’s mission to ignominy – will come to pass. Two, that while God wants to punish the unbelievers for the excesses they committed against the believers, the unbelievers entertain the illusion that this will not happen and that they will be able to elude God’s grasp.
But the fact remains, and the believers know it for certain, that the illusion of the unbelievers would remain mere illusion while the will of God the Almighty shall ultimately prevail.