Allah Will Forgive All of Your Sins : Tafsir 39:53
I recall hearing a christian once tell me that my religion, “Izlam”, was not a religion of forgiveness & mercy. In fact, in his view, it is impossible for God to forgive sins without “sacrifice”, as he saw it. No matter what verses I quoted him, ahadith (narratives of the Prophet Muhammad), or scholarly quotes, he was adamant that the Qur’an does not preach forgiveness of man’s sins. One can guide the donkey to the water, but can not make him drink. I believe that a single verse from the Qur’an can respond to the christian view, or anyone else’s view, that Islam is a religion that teaches God will forgive as long as one is sincerely repentant.
Allah says,
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Imam At-Tabari (d. 310 A.H) and the scholars of exegesis commented on this verse saying that it was revealed regarding a people of paganism who came to the Prophet Muhammad asking, ‘How is it that Allah will forgive us after we have worshipped other than Allah, fornicated, killed individuals unjustly?’ Then Allah sent this verse upon the Prophet Muhammad.
The philosopher and Jurist, Fakhr-ud-Din Ar-Raazi (d. 606 A.H) stated that one needs to take note that Allah has called the sinner, the one who has committed the most grievous crimes (kabaa’ir), “My servant”. He has still branded the individual his, a possession of the Almighty. He has qualified him as a believer, and has not turned away from him due to his evil actions. Another point Imam Ar-Raazi makes is that Allah, the exalted, mentions “…all sins…” will be forgiven. No one can then come and say that a sin will not be forgiven if the servant turns to his Lord sincerely.
As-Samarqandi (d. 375 A.H.) said, “[Do not despair of God's Mercy] means do not lose hope in Allah’s forgiveness [Verily Allah will forgive all of your sins] refers to the kabaa’ir (the major sins) and other than them, as long as one (sincerely) repents [Verily he is the Most Forgiving] To those who repent [The Most Merciful].”
Ibn Al Juzay, the famous Granadian exegete, quotes Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (‘alayhis salaam) as well as Ibn Mas’ud (radhiya Allahu Anhu) as saying that this verse is the most hope-filled verse in the Qur’an [هذه أرجى آية في القرآن]. It is also reported from Rasulullah that he said, “There is nothing more beloved to me in this world and what it contains than this verse.” ((See At-Tash-eel Al-’Uloom At-Tanzeel of Ibn Juzay ))
The quotes utilized by Ibn Al-Juzay in his tafsir can be found with chains of narrations in Ibn Jarir At-Tabari’s tafsir. The following narrations are quoted by Ibn Jarir in his tafsir:
حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا جرير، عن منصور، عن الشعبيّ، قال: تجالس شتير بن شكل ومسروق فقال شتير: إما أن تحدث ما سمعت من ابن مسعود فأصدّقك، وإما أن أحدّث فتصدّقني فقال مسروق: لا بل حدّث فأصدّقك، فقال: سمعت ابن مسعود يقول: إن أكبر آية فرجا في القرآن { يا عِبادِيَ الَّذِينَ أسْرَفُوا على أنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ } فقال مسروق: صدقت.
[...] Ibn Mas’ud said, “The greatest hope-filled verse of the Qur’an is ‘”Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [...].
حدثني يعقوب، قال: ثنا ابن علية، قال: ثنا يونس، عن ابن سيرين، قال: قال علي رضي الله عنه: أي آية في القرآن أوسع؟ فجعلوا يذكرون آيات من القرآن:
{ وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءاً أوْ يظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُوراً رَحِيماً }
ونحوها، فقال علي: ما في القرآن آية أوسع من: { يا عِبادِيَ الَّذِينَ أسْرَفُوا على أنْفُسِهِمْ }… إلى آخر الآية.
From Ibn Sirin who said that ‘Ali (ibn Abi Taalib) (radhiya Allahu Anhu) said ‘What verse in the Qur’an is [the most] comprehensive (‘Awsa’)? The verse of Allah ta’ala,
“Yet anyone who does evil or wrongs his own soul and then asks Allah for forgiveness, will find Him most forgiving and Merciful.” [Abdel Haleem trans. Of verse 4:110] and others like it. So ‘Ali (‘alayhis salaam) said, “There is not a verse in the Qur’an more comprehensive than the verse “Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” This hadith is also reported by At-Tirmidhi in his Sunan who said about it: “Hasan Gharib”. It was mentioned by Al-Qurtubi in his tafsir as well.
حدثني زكريا بن يحيى بن أبي زائدة، قال: ثنا حجاج، قال: ثنا ابن لهيعة، عن أبي قنبل، قال: سمعت أبا عبد الرحمن المزني يقول: ثني أبو عبيد الرحمن الجلائي، أنه سمع ثوبان مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: ” ما أُحِبُّ أنَّ لي الدُّنْيا وَما فِيها بهَذهِ الآيَةِ ” { يا عِبادِيَ الَّذِينَ أسْرَفُوا على أنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ }… الآية، فقال رجل: يا رسول الله، ومن أشرك؟ فسكت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم قال: ” أَلا وَمَنْ أشْرَكَ، ألا وَمَنْ أشْرَكَ ” ثلاث مَرَّات.
There is however a problem in the chain and that is that Abdullah ibn Lahi’ah is within in it and he is dha’if (weak) according to the majority of scholars.
[End of narrations from Ibn Jarir]
This verse manifests in the clearest terms that Allah’s mercy precedes his wrath. That He, the exalted, is not in need of “sacrifice” in order for Him to forgive His worshippers and friends. Recall the story wherein our beloved Prophet Muhammad told us of a prostitute who saw a dog panting around a well. She took off her sandle, scooped up the water, then gave the thirsty dog a drink from it. Our Prophet Muhammad said that Allah forgave her for all of her sins and entered her into Paradise simply for this act of mercy. This is a woman who was commiting the atrocious sin and crime of fornication, and surely cooperating in adultery as well, yet Allah in his ultimate mercy, overlooked all of her evil acts due to her sincere mercy towards Allah’s creation. He does as He wills! The message of Islam is as the Prophet Muhammad said that Allah, the exalted, wrote on His throne, “My mercy precedes my wrath.” A message of mercy and compassion indeed!
14 Responses to “Allah Will Forgive All of Your Sins : Tafsir 39:53”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Allah Will Forgive All of Your Sins : Tafsir 39:53 - [...] Union pour la Ville dâOsny wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAllah Will Forgive All of Your ...
Beautiful reminder Sidi. Barakallahu fik. Ya Latifu Ya Karim. Ya Rahmanu Ya Rahim. Ya dhal fadhlu l-’adhim
Jazaaka Allahu Khairan Sidi Yaser.
I have added the references for Ibn Juzay’s quotes from Ibn Mas’ud, Ali and Rasulullah (‘alayhis salaam).
Jazkallah Khair Sidi loved the article..I have one question though..I have heard some Ulema state that shirk is something which Allah will never forgive.
Is this just the Salafi opinion? I’m just curious since you quoted Imam Tabari who presents another side…
It is interesting you mentioned this point Sidi Hussain, may Allah bless you with. The aayah you are referring to is Allah’s words,
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ إِثْماً عَظِيماً
“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.”
Now, I have personally read many explanations of the reconciliations between the two verses.
The first is from Ibn Jarir At-Tabari who reports a narration from Ibn ‘Umar that says when the verse
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
was revealed a man stood up and said,
“What of Ash-Shirk oh Prophet!”
The Nabi disliked the question and then recited the verse:
“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.”
[endquote]
This verse, however, is in respect to those who die upon polytheism, not upon those who repent and abandon it. The proof is from the Qur’an itself wherein Allah ta’alaa states:
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهاً آخَرَ وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ يَلْقَ أَثَاماً
يُضَاعَفْ لَهُ الْعَذَابُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَخْلُدْ فِيهِ مُهَاناً
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلاً صَالِحاً فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً
And those who invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause, nor commit illegal sexual intercourse and whoever does this shall receive the punishment. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated – Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
[Furqan: 68-70 Sahih International Translation]
The upshot is that if the person repents sincerly and performs righteous deeds thereafter, Allah will forgive them and they enter into the verse we have quoted from Az-Zumar:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
“Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful
There is precedent in the Sunnah for this understanding as well. In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad we find the authentic narrative that states from Mu’awiyah:
سَمِعْت مُعَاوِيَة يَقُول : سَمِعْت رَسُول اللَّه صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُول ” كُلّ ذَنْب عَسَى اللَّه أَنْ يَغْفِرهُ إِلَّا الرَّجُل يَمُوت كَافِرًا أَوْ الرَّجُل يَقْتُل مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا
“I heard Rasulullah (‘alayhis salaam) say, ‘All sins will be forgiven save for a man who DIES as a kaafir or a man who killed a believer intentionally.”
Both of these cases fall beneath the issue of sincere repentance.
The key word is “dies”.
There is also the hadith in t he Musnad of Imam Ahmad reported from Abu Dharr that states:
مَا مِنْ عَبْد قَالَ لَا إِلَه إِلَّا اللَّه ثُمَّ مَاتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ إِلَّا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّة
“There is not a single slave of Allah who says La Ilaaha Illa Allah (there is nothing worthy of worship save God) then dies except that he will enter Jannah (Heaven)!”
Again key word: مَاتَ – dies
Ibn Al-Jawzi in his tafsir stated that the meaning of 4:48 is:
والمراد من الآية: لا يغفر لمشرك مات على شركه.
“What is intended by this verse is that [Allah] will not forgive the Mushrik who dies upon his shirk.” [Zad Al-Maseer]
An-Nsfi in his tafsir “madark at tanzeel wa haqaa’iq at-ta’weel” states:
{ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ } إن مات عليه
“Verily Allah does not forgive that partners be set with him” [meaning] if one dies upon that [polytheism].
Hope that helps Sidi.
salamu alaykum,
i read in Imam Fahreddin Razis rahimuAllah “Mafatih Al Ghayb“ and
Imam al-Qurtubis rahimuAllah „Ahkam Al Quran“ that the ahl al bayt was in the opinion that the most hope giving ayah is 93:5
“And your Lord will give you enough; you will be pleased.”
It means the intercession of our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. It goes on in the tafsir [Hadhrat Ali is cited] that when the ayah 93:5 was revealed, that Rasulullah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, that he will not be pleased as long as there is 1 of his ummah in jahannam.
I think this also is a very nice tafsir and does not really contradict the tafsir on 39:53, since at last they go hand in hand.
Jazkallah Khair Sidi, May Allah reward you immensely!
As-salamu ‘alaykum,
In criticizing Christian theology, it has been said that it makes a prisoner of His attribute of Justice. Or as Evangelicals sometimes say, “God is 100% Holy, so He just can’t forgive”. Muslims rightfully ask, “So where’s the mercy in this?” Indeed, it seems that His attribute of mercy and forgiveness don’t fit in anywhere in the Christian view, and they make God into a Shylock who demands repayment for everything and forgives nothing.
Christian theology seems in stark contrast to the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the New Testament in which the sinful son returns home and his father just forgives him (i.e. no need for complex atonement theology). I very much agree with the academic scholars who consider the Beatitudes and the various parables as the most authentic part of Jesus’ (as) message as recorded in the New Testament, thus concluding that his message was one of telling people that the door of repentance was open to everyone, not just a select few self-righteous Pharisees who believe they could earn their way to heaven by outward displays of “righteousness”. Likewise, in Islam we believe that no one enters Paradise except by God’s mercy, since if He took us to task for our deeds, we’d all be doomed. Although many Muslims unfortunately have a rather mercantile approach to the Deen, it’s not the correct understanding.
On a similar note (and a very embarrassing one for Christians), read about how in the Ransom Theory of Atonement (also known as the Classical View of Atonement since it was the original one that was held by most Christians up until the 11th Century!!!), Jesus’ alleged death on the cross was done so that God could pay Satan to release people from Hell. These days there’s a lot of disavowal of this view, especially in Protestant writings, since they are rather embarrassed by it. However, if you check reliable websites and academic books, there’s plenty of information on how the large majority of Christians for the first 1,000 years of their history adhered to this unacceptable view. Personally, I think it was coming into contact with the much more sophisticated Kalam theology of the Muslims, as well as the Greek philosophy texts that Muslims also had, that allowed Christians to improve on their rather crude theology. Indeed, it’s well documented that (St.) Thomas Aquinas, the most influential theologian of the Roman Catholic Church, borrowed wholesale from Muslims scholars like Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd.
Going back to the main point, Christians often miss the big picture, since after listening to them explain how Jesus died for your sins, if you ask them, “So God is incapable of just forgiving me?” they usually get all flustered. You have to be careful to emphasize the word “incapable” because they also claim (which is a misuse of the Biblical verse) that “with God all things are possible.” When faced with the question whether God is incapable of just forgiving us, they’ll either contradict themselves or (if they’re a liberal) Christian, they’ll compromise on their theology. The question for the liberal Christians, who say God can still forgive you even without faith in Jesus (as), is: “Then why should I risk compromising my pure monotheism and accept a so-called ‘son of God’ as my savior if God can still forgive me if I don’t?” Christians who adhere to a more traditional and conservative view will say that God can only forgive “fallen man” through “His Son Jesus”, which is why (St.) Augustine of Hippo, another towering Catholic theologian, believed that unbaptized babies are not “saved”…since God cannot just forgive them if they are tainted with “Original Sin”. So what about the billions of people who never even had a chance to hear of the alleged atoning death of Jesus (as)? So if their God is so loving, why didn’t he send messengers to all of these people? Or send Jesus (as) right after the fall of Adam? If their God is so incapable and/or so un-Merciful, does He even deserve to be called “God”? Unlike Islamic theology, Christian theology has no way of dealing with these troubling questions without compromising on their core belief that there’s no salvation without Jesus (as). On the other hand, the Qur’an teaches about God as He truly is…and God who is completely in control, not subject to anything outside His power, never surprised…and infinitely merciful and compassionate. I believe this has amazing appeal to people if we can just do away with their misconceptions which have lead them to think that we believe in some false pagan deity, instead of being the true pure monotheism of Abraham (as).
On that note, I can’t help but mention that you said, “Islam is a religion that teaches God will forgive as long as one is sincerely repentant.” Well actually, the Qur’an says: “Surely God will not forgive the association of partners with Him, but He forgives (sins) less than that to whomever He wishes” (4:48). Well even though the verse (ayah) says “God will not forgive the association of partners with Him,” what it means is that it will not be forgiven if it is not repented from…but any sin, including associating partners with God, will automatically be forgiven if repented from…and this is promise from Almighty God in the Qur’an. Due to this, scholars have pointed out, that Almighty God might forgive “less than that”, even if NOT repented from, “to whomever He wishes”…although this isn’t guaranteed. Thus in the end, we should work to repent from every sin that we can, but always hope that they will be forgiven…all the while knowing that ultimate felicity belongs to those who trust in God alone and not let anything pull us away from that. If it upsets the Christians that we believe that God that is really God, and that He’s truly merciful and capable of forgiveness…well that’s too bad for them!
Just a question a non-Muslim put forward to me: if God is merciful, then how can he be just? If God is merciful, then he forgives people who are sinful, but to be just would be to punish someone for their sin. How can one be both?
Well, that would be like saying that Allah is unjust because he is Just. Do you see the contradiction? Justice and being just are qualities that are honourable and noble. He is merciful to those who deserve mercy, and it is through His wisdom that he decides who deserves and who does not. He is the knower of Allah, the exalted.
I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that by being merciful, Allah is being Just? That he gives mercy to only those who deserve it, and through that he is Just?
Some Muslims may not see the issue that I am presenting. I once read a hadith in which Allah forgave a prostitute for giving a dog water, and granted her paradise. But at the same time, there are many hadith in which a person who has prayed his entire life is granted hell just for saying a small comment that may have bothered someone. How is this Just?
No you didn’t understand what I was saying.
Proof?
Isn’t there a hadith which mentions a man who bothers another person, and on the Day of Judgment, that persons good deeds are all given to the person he bothers; so much of them, in fact, that he has no good deeds left, so Allah transfers all the bad deeds of that person whom he bothered to that person, and then when it is over, this person has a large pile of bad deeds, and no good ones, and therefore is dragged to hell.
Just bring the athar please.
As salamu ‘alaykum
Jazak’Allah khair for this post akhi. It was very beautiful.