Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:119

{out of ignorance} Meaning: because of it. It signifies that ignorance is the cause prompting them to commit the act, such as the ignorance of the pre-Islamic era that leads to killing and other such deeds. Ignorance has been interpreted as referring to an unbecoming affair. Ibn Atiyyah said: It here denotes transgressing boundaries and being headstrong, not the opposite of knowledge. From this is what is mentioned in the narration: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I act or be acted upon in ignorance," and the poet’s saying: "Let no one act ignorantly against us, for we would then commit an ignorance like that of the ignorant."

Yes, often this ignorance is accompanied by that which is the opposite of knowledge. Some have interpreted it as such and considered the 'ba' (in 'bi-jahala') to denote accompaniment, making the prepositional phrase in the state of being a circumstantial qualifier—meaning, they are shrouded in ignorance, not knowing Allah the Exalted and His punishment, or not reflecting upon the consequences due to the dominance of desire over them.

{then they repented after that} Meaning: after they had done what they had done. Expressing this explicitly, despite the indication of 'then' (thumma), is for emphasis and hyperbole.

{and corrected themselves} Meaning: they corrected their deeds, or they entered into righteousness. Some interpreted 'correction' as remaining steadfast in repentance.

{indeed your Lord, after it} Meaning: after that repentance, as mentioned by more than one scholar. Perhaps 'correction' is subsumed within repentance and is a completion of it.

Abu Hayyan said: The pronoun refers to the verbal nouns understood from the preceding verbs, meaning: after the doing of evil, repentance, and correction. It is also said that it refers to ignorance, and said that it refers to the evil, i.e., the disobedience, though that is not as strong.

{is Forgiving} To that evil.

{Merciful} To those who persist in His obedience, Glory be to Him, in action and abstention.

The repetition of {indeed your Lord} is for the sake of confirming the promise and demonstrating complete concern for its fulfillment. Mentioning the attribute of Lordship along with its attribution to His pronoun—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—while the effect is apparent in the repentant ones, is to signal that the outpouring of the effects of Lordship, such as forgiveness and mercy upon them, is through the mediation of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and by virtue of their being his followers, as has passed shortly before.

The restriction to "ignorance" is said to be for explaining the reality, because everyone who does evil does not do so except out of ignorance. Al-Askari said: The meaning is not that He, the Exalted, forgives the one who does evil out of ignorance and does not forgive the one who does it without ignorance; rather, the intent is that this is the path for all who repent. The one who does evil out of ignorance was singled out because most of those who commit sins do so due to a lack of reflection on the consequence of the matter, or due to the dominance of desire, or due to the ignorance of youth. Thus, the majority case was mentioned, following the custom of the Arabs in such matters. According to both opinions, the restriction does not have a restrictive concept (mafhum).