What is the difference between His (the Almighty’s) saying in Surat At-Tawbah: "They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, even if the disbelievers dislike it. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists dislike it," and His (the Almighty’s) saying in Surat As-Saff: "They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, even if the disbelievers dislike it. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists dislike it"? And is there any additional benefit in the change of expression?

The two noble verses: {They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, however much the disbelievers dislike it} and {But Allah refuses except to perfect His light} have different contexts. The first was revealed in the Medinan period and contains rhetorical aspects. The phrase "Allah refuses" means that Allah’s will is definitive in perfecting His light, and that the attempt to extinguish the light of Allah is an attempt to invalidate Allah’s will. The word "abā" (refuses) conveys negation; it is as if it means "And Allah wills nothing but to perfect His light." This construction was used due to the intense obstinacy of the People of the Book, whereas in Surat As-Saff, the expression "and Allah will perfect His light" was used because the hypocrites were secretly plotting against the Muslims.