(Is he who payeth adoration) is he who obeys Allah, i.e. the Prophet (pbuh) (in the watches of the night) in the hours of the night, (prostrate and standing) in prayer, (bewaring of the Hereafter) fearing the torment of the Hereafter (and hoping for the mercy of his Lord) and hoping for the Garden of his Lord, to be counted equal to Abu Jahl and his host? (Say) to them, O Muhammad: (Are those who know) Allah's divine Oneness and Allah's commands and prohibitions, i.e. Abu Bakr and his fellow believers (equal) in reward and acts of obedience (with those who know not) Allah's divine Oneness or Allah's commands and prohibitions, i.e. Abu Jahl and his host? (But only men of understanding) only those possessed of intellect among people (will pay heed) will take admonition from the similitudes of the Qur'an.
