﴿ وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَٰكِرِينَ ﴾

“AND [remember, O Prophet,] how those who were bent on denying the truth were scheming against thee, in order to restrain thee [from preaching], or to slay thee, or to drive thee away: thus have they [always] schemed: but God brought their scheming to nought-for God is above all schemers.”

If a man fears God, he does whatever God has commanded him to do and refrains from doing whatever God has prohibited; he is inspired to be able to distinguish truth from falsehood. (The word used in the original for the ability to make this distinction is furqan). (Tafsir ibn Kathir). The greatest stimulus to the proper use of human capabilities is fear. Man, in a state of fear, becomes extremely realistic in all matters. Fear removes all veils from his mind so thoroughly that he is able to rise above all omissions, mistakes and misunderstandings and can then form the most correct opinions. This is exactly what happens to that subject of God who goes in fear (taqwa) of the Lord of all the universe. This ability to tell right from wrong (furqan) is almost the same as inner realisation (ma‘rifah) or insight (basirah). Insight creates an inner light in a man which enables him to see everything in its reality without his being deceived by its outward aspects. Whenever a man involves himself in anything to the point of always being careful about it, a particular sort of sensitivity develops in him which makes him recognise the favourable and unfavourable aspects of that matter. This applies to everyone, whether he be a religious man, a trader, a doctor or an engineer. If a man becomes totally devoted to his work, his inner realisation becomes so intense that, he cuts through all confusion, and straightaway understands the reality of the matter. Development of this Divine insight (furqan) in a man is the greatest guarantee that he will be safe from evils; it will enable him to place his relations with God, on a sound footing and he will finally become entitled to the grace of God. The development of this capacity to distinguish between truth and falsehood indicates that a man has attached himself to the truth to the extent that no difference remains between him and the Truth: the Truth and he have become complementary to each other. Thereafter his being saved becomes as necessary as the saving of Truth. Such people come directly under God’s protection. Now, plotting against them amounts to undermining the Truth itself. One who schemes against God is invariably unsuccessful, no matter how great the devices he employs.