Tafsir of Az-Zumar 39:53

(Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves), meaning: those who have exceeded the limits in sins, committing offenses against their own selves. The root of isrāf (transgression) is excessiveness in spending wealth; then it was used metaphorically in what we have mentioned, through two degrees of separation as it is said. Al-Rāghib said: It is exceeding the limit in every act a person performs, even if it is most commonly used in spending. This confirms that it is literal in what we have mentioned, and it is sound. The word is implied with the meaning of "crime" (jināyah) so that it may be transitive via the preposition ‘alā (against), and it is not required for the implied meaning to be literal. It is also said that it is implied with the meaning of "burdening" (ḥaml).

Many have interpreted the addition in "My servants" (‘ibādī) as referring to the covenant or as an honorific. They hold that the intended meaning of "servants" here is the believers, as its usage has become dominant for them when appended to His majesty—Exalted is He—in the Great Quran. It is as if it were said: "O you believing sinners."

(Do not despair of the mercy of Allah), meaning: do not lose hope in His forgiveness—Exalted is He—and His grace, given that forgiveness is included within mercy, or that mercy necessitates it, for it is inconceivable to have mercy for one who has not been forgiven. The justification of the prohibition with His saying—Exalted is He—(Indeed, Allah forgives all sins) necessitates that these sins are included in what is being justified. The suffixing of the verse with His saying—Exalted is He—(Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful) is almost explicit in this regard.

It has been suggested that there is a rhetorical artifice in the speech known as iḥtibāk (mutual ellipsis), as if it were said: "Do not despair of the mercy and forgiveness of Allah, for Allah forgives all sins and is merciful," though this is far-fetched.

They said: The intended meaning of the forgiveness of sins is refraining from them and not holding the servant accountable for them, both outwardly and inwardly; this is what is intended by "covering" them. It is also said that the intended meaning is the complete erasure of them from the scrolls along with refraining from punishment. That the outward meaning is absolute and that restricting it to repentance is contrary to the obvious, for how could it be otherwise when His saying—Exalted is He—(Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills) is explicit in its absoluteness regarding everything other than polytheism?

Several points bear witness to this absoluteness:

First: Calling them by the title of servitude, for it necessitates humiliation, which is more fitting for the state of the sinner if he has not repented; its requirement for compassion is evident.

Second: The exclusivity felt by the addition to His own pronoun—Exalted is He—for it is the nature of the Master to be merciful to His servant and compassionate toward him.

Third: Specifying the harm of transgression with "against themselves," for it is as if it were said: "The harm of sins returns to them, not to Me," and this is sufficient without any other harm, as in the proverb: "Do good to him who does evil; the doer of evil suffices with his own evil." When the servant sins and stands before his Master, humiliated and fearful, knowing his Master’s displeasure with him and looking at the honor bestowed upon others who obeyed, he has suffered harm, for deserving punishment is, in the view of the wise, a punishment in itself.

Fourth: The prohibition of despairing of mercy absolutely, let alone forgiveness, and its being left absolute.

Fifth: Attributing mercy to the Majestic Name (Allah), which contains all the meanings of the [Divine] names, via the method of iltifāt (shifting), for this is evident in its vastness and clearly includes both the repentant and the non-repentant.

Sixth: The justification with His saying—Exalted is He—(Indeed, Allah)... for justification is fitting when there is improbability, and refraining from despairing of mercy without repentance is more improbable than refraining from it with repentance.

Seventh: Placing the Majestic Name in place of a pronoun to indicate that forgiveness is one of the requirements of His Essence, not due to anything else such as repentance or otherwise.

Eighth: Definiteness of "sins" (al-dhunūb), for in the context of praising [Himself], it is clearly exhaustive, thus including sins followed by repentance and those not followed by it.

Ninth: Emphasizing with the word "all" (jamī‘an).

Tenth: The justification by "Indeed, it is He..." etc.

Eleventh: Expressing it with "Forgiving" (Ghafūr), for it is a superlative form, and if it is considered in terms of quantity, it includes all sins, or if in terms of quality, it includes major sins without repentance.

Twelfth: Omitting the object of "Forgiving," for the omission of the object implies generality.

Thirteenth: The sentence implying exclusivity, for it is known that others besides Him—Exalted is He—may be described as forgiving, so the one to whom [ultimate] forgiveness is exclusive is He, the Perfect and Great, which is that which occurs without repentance.

Fourteenth: The exaggeration in that exclusivity.

Fifteenth: The promise of "Merciful" after "Forgiving," for it implies that the servant would not deserve forgiveness were it not for His mercy, which is clear in cases where he has not repented.

Sixteenth: Expressing it in the superlative form.

Seventeenth: Its absoluteness. The Mu'tazilah denied the forgiveness of major sins and pardoning them without repentance, saying that they appear in more than one place in the Holy Quran restricted by repentance, and therefore its absoluteness here should be interpreted in light of the restriction due to the unity of the incident, the impossibility of abrogation, and the Quran being in the status of one single speech. They supported this with His saying—Exalted is He—...