إِن تُطِيعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يَرُدُّوكُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَٰبِكُمْ
Yā ayyuha'lladhīna āmanū in tuṭīʿu'lladhīna kafarū yaruddūkum ʿalā aʿqābikum fa-tanqalibū khāsirīn · Bali'llāhu mawlākum wa huwa khayru'n-nāṣirīn · Sa-nulqī fī qulūbi'lladhīna kafaru'r-ruʿba bimā ashrakū bi'llāhi mā lam yunazzil bihī sulṭānā, wa maʾwāhumu'n-nār, wa biʾsa mathwa'ẓ-ẓālimīn
"You who believe! If you obey those who deny, they will turn you back on your heels; then you will turn back as losers. · No: God is your patron, and He is the best of helpers. · We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who deny — because they associated with God what He sent down no warrant for."
| Verse | Wording | The cause |
|---|---|---|
| 144 | Inqalabtum ʿalā aʿqābikum | The possibility of the messenger's going |
| 144 | Wa man yanqalib ʿalā ʿaqibayh | A general ruling |
| 149 | Yaruddūkum ʿalā aʿqābikum | Obeying another |
And the difference must be recorded: at 144 the one who turns back turns of himself; at 149 another turns him back (yaruddūkum). The same movement, two different agents.
And the same structure was at verse 100: yaruddūkum baʿda īmānikum kāfirīn — there the subject was a group from among the People of the Book, here those who deny. Two verses use the same verb with two different subjects. This is a repetition verifiable within the sūra.
بَلِ ٱللَّهُ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ — the particle bal leaves the preceding sentence and puts another in its place. And the word mawlā is from the root و-ل-ي — at verse 68 it occurred as waliyyu'l-muʾminīn. Two occurrences, the same root.