لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْرَحُونَ بِمَا أَتَوا وَّيُحِبُّونَ أَن يُحْمَدُوا بِمَا لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا فَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّهُم بِمَفَازَةٍ مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (188)
(3:188) Do not think that those who exult in their misdeeds and love to be praised for what indeed they have not done, *133 do not think that they are secure from chastisement. A painful chastisement awaits them.
*133). Such people expected praises to be lavished upon them for being God-fearing, devout and pious, for being sincere servants of the true faith, for being defenders of God's Law and for having reformed and purified the lives of people, even though none of this might be true. They wanted people to go about trumpeting that such and such a person had made great sacrifices in the cause of God and had sincerely guided people to the right way even though the facts might be the reverse of what they claimed.