6

O you who believe! Guard yourselves and your families, by enjoining obedience to Allahu ta’ālā, against a Fire whose fuel is, disbelieving, people and stones, such as those idols of theirs made of that [stone] - the meaning is that it is extremely hot, fuelled by the above-mentioned, unlike the fire of this world which is fuelled by wood and the like - over which stand angels, its keepers - numbering nineteen as will be stated in [sūrat] al-Muddaththir [Q. 74:30] - stern, a sternness of the heart, mighty, in [their power of] assault, who do not disobey Allahu ta’ālā in what He commands them (mā amarahum is a substitution for His Majesty ['Allahu ta’ālā']), in other words, they do not disobey the command of Allahu ta’ālā, but do what they are commanded - this is [reiterated] for emphasis; the verse is meant as a threat to deter believers from apostatising and for hypocrites who believe only with their tongues and not with their hearts.