We know best why it is they listen, when they listen(2232) to thee; and when they meet in private conference, behold, the wicked say, "Ye follow none other than a man bewitched!"
2232 See last note. That being so, the only motive for the ungodly to listen to Allah's Truth is to scoff at it instead of to be instructed by it. They may make a show of listening, but when they meet together in private, they show themselves in their true colours. Cf. 2:14. They cannot help seeing that there is singular charm and attractiveness in Allah's Word, and that it consoles, helps, and elevates many people who receive it in the right spirit. So they pretend that they are superior to such people and laugh at them for listening to someone who is only under the influence of something which they call magic! (see also 25:8).