Surah 29. Al-Ankabut, Ayah 67

See note [58] on the second paragraph of 28:57 . In contrast to the "sanctuary secure" - the inner peace and sense of spiritual fulfilment which God bestows on those who truly believe in Him - the atheist or agnostic is more often than not exposed to fear of the Unknown and a despair born of the uncertainty as to what will happen to him after death.

 Mecca was considered as a sanctuary. Therefore, fighting was not allowed there, and whoever entered Mecca (especially in the neighbourhood of the Ka’bah) was safe—a privilege that other cities in Arabia did not have.

 i.e., the false gods and idols.

If they want evidences of their folly in the phenomenal world itself, they will see sacred Sanctuaries where Allah's Truth abides safely in the midst of the Deluge of broken hopes, disappointed ambitions and unfulfilled plans in the world around. The immediate reference was to the Sanctuary of Makkah and the gradual progress of Islam in the districts surrounding the Quraish in the midst of the trying Makkan period. But the general application holds good for all times and places.