A Torment Unlike Any Other

Allah (swt) said: qāla Allāhu innī munazziluhā ʿalaykum — Allah said: I am going to send it down unto you; I will send it down. But Allah (swt) says: fa-man yakfur baʿdu minkum fa-innī uʿadhdhibuhu ʿadhāban lā uʿadhdhibuhu aḥadan min al-ʿālamīn. Allah says: I'm going to send it down unto you — but if any of you after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among all the worlds.

When you ask for an āyah, when you ask for a miracle, and the miracle is performed, and then you disbelieve, it is worse than disbelieving without seeing a miracle. Why? Because you have asked Allah to provide you with a proof, and He provided you with a proof; nevertheless, you refused.

And that's why the more a person knows — the more a person is knowledgeable — the more responsible they become. I mean, the responsibility on a scholar is greater than the responsibility on the layman, who has very limited information. Why? Because a scholar now has many of the ayat of Allah with him, which makes it a greater obligation.

And that's why we know that the first three who will be burnt in the Hellfire are who? A scholar, and a shahīd, and who? And the man who spent a lot of money. Why? Because these are people who had signs of Allah (swt), had niʿmah from Allah (swt), and then they didn't use it right. That scholar used it to show off. And the shahīd was fighting not for the sake of Allah, but was fighting for what? For fame. And then the other person was being generous just to show the people that he's generous. When you have seen the sign from Allah (swt), the obligation becomes greater.