Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindled a fire and when it illumined [the area] all about him God took away their light and left them in darkness unable to see The similitude God سبحانه strikes here for hypocrites is that of someone who kindles a fire in the beginning of the night then the fire is extinguished and he is left in the darkness. Similarly something of the benefits of this world appear to the hypocrites outwardly but then they are afflicted in the hereafter by the pain of the punishment. Or [it may be that] something of their affirmation iqrār flashes but then they remain in the darkness of their denial inkār. The allusion in this verse is to one who has a beautiful beginning trav- eling the path of spiritual desire Ṭarīq al-irāda. He toils for a time and endures one difficulty after another. He then returns to this world before having reached the truth and reverts to the darknesses of human nature within him. His stem sprouted but did not bear fruit. His branch blossomed but did not ripen. He hastened the eclipse of listlessness over the moons of His presence. The hand of subjugation rejected him after the tongue of kindness beckoned him. His heart moved away from closeness and his lower self became full of rancor toward the seekers. He is as it is said: When passion settled in and we said we were happy we thought we were secure from growing apart. Division sent its messengers in secret and destroyed what we had brought together in our union. The allusion in this verse also pertains to one who grasps [only] the lowest level of comprehension but makes claims far above what he [knows]. When the ongoing increase he possesses in his states is cut off he remains in the darkness of his claims. There is also [an allusion to] the one who relies on the rubble and glitter of this world. When [his] states become like a well-trodden road helped along by hope and rising expectation death appears as an ambush of the divine ruse. He leaves everything yatruk al-kull but carries the burden forth yaḥmil al-kall.
