Tafsir of Luqman 31:23-24

Luqman: (23 - 24) And whoever disbelieves, let not his disbelief grieve you...

When the state of the Muslim was clarified, He returned to explaining the state of the disbeliever, saying:

{And whoever disbelieves, let not his disbelief grieve you}

Meaning, do not be saddened if a disbeliever disbelieves. For one who denies something while being certain that the truth will soon become apparent does not grieve; rather, the denier might be rebuked for increasing the denial if he is not among those guided, and if the denier is among the enemies, so that he is utterly shamed. However, if he does not expect the truth of his claim to appear, he feels pain from the denial. Thus, He said, "let not his disbelief grieve you," because the return is to Me. {Then We will inform them of what they did, and they will be ashamed.}

And His saying: {Indeed, Allah is All-Knower of the innermost thoughts.} Meaning, nothing of their secret or their manifest affairs is hidden from Him, so He will inform them of what their breasts have concealed. And dhawat al-sudur (the innermost thoughts/contents of the breasts) are what lead to ruin.

Then, Allah, the Exalted, detailed what we mentioned, saying: {We grant them enjoyment for a little while.} Meaning, their stay is for a short period. Then He clarified the consequence of their denial and disbelief with His saying: {Then We will drive them to a severe punishment.} Meaning, We will impose upon them the harshest torment until they themselves enter a fierce punishment, thus being compelled to the punishment of the Fire, fleeing from the stern, severe angels who torment them with maces of fire.

There is another subtle interpretation here: When they denied the Messengers, and then the matter became clear to them, such shame would overcome them that they would enter the Fire and would not choose to stand before their Lord in the presence of the Prophets. This is confirmed by His saying: {let not his disbelief grieve you; to Us is their return, and We will inform them of what they did.}

{And if you asked them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they would surely say, "Allah." Say, "Praise be to Allah." But most of them do not know.}