﴿ وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِى كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَٰبِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُوا۟ فِيهَا ۖ وَمَا يَمْكُرُونَ إِلَّا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴾

“And it is in this way that We cause the great ones in every land to become its [greatest] evildoers, there to weave their schemes: yet it is only against themselves that they scheme -and they perceive it not.”

And thus in the same way that We have made the wicked folk of Mecca its leaders We have made in every city its sinners great ones that they may plot therein to impede the faith; but they plot only against themselves because the evil consequences thereof will befall them though they do not perceive this.