Tafsir of Az-Zumar 39:54

(And return to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you, then you will not be helped.)

[54] This is a conjunction to [the previous command], "Do not despair." The explanatory phrase in between is an interjection. If one accepts the principle of carrying a general statement over to a restricted one, this is a conjunction for the purpose of completing the clarification; as if it were said: "Do not despair of the mercy of Allah, the Exalted, lest you think He will not accept your repentance; rather, return to Him, the Exalted, and be sincere to Him, the Mighty and Majestic."

Some groups have responded by denying the necessity of carrying a general statement over to a restricted one within a single speech—such as [the command] "Honor the virtuous" and "Honor the perfect," let alone in speech that is not even considered part of the same unified discourse. In such a case, the conjoined element is not a condition for the one it is conjoined to, as it is not part of its completion. It has also been said that the command to repent and be sincere does not resolve the issue of generality, as it is not claimed that the verse indicates the attainment of forgiveness for everyone without repentance or prior punishment, which would render the command [to repent] unnecessary and contradict the threat of punishment.

Some eminent, precise scholars have stated that the words of the Exalted, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves," is an address to both disbelievers and sinners. Even if the primary intention was the disbelievers—due to the proximity [of the verse] and the occasion of revelation—Ibn Jarir and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Abbas that he said: The people of Makkah said, "Muhammad (peace be upon him) claims that he who worshipped idols, called upon another god alongside Allah, and killed a soul that Allah has forbidden, will not be forgiven. So how can we migrate and embrace Islam when we have worshipped idols and killed souls, and we are people of Shirk?" Thus, Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves,'..." up to the end.

Ibn Jarir also recorded from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "These verses were revealed regarding Ayyash bin Abi Rabi'ah, al-Walid bin al-Walid, and a group of Muslims who had embraced Islam, were then tempted [by trials], tortured, and caused to succumb to temptation. We used to say: 'Allah will never accept anything from these people, neither obligatory nor supererogatory, forever—they are people who embraced Islam and then abandoned their religion due to the torture they endured.' Then these verses were revealed. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was a scribe, so he wrote them down with his own hand and sent them to Ayyash, al-Walid, and that group, and they embraced Islam and migrated."

Ibn Jarir also recorded from Ata’ bin Yasar, who said: "These three verses—from 'Say, O My servants...' to '...while they do not perceive'—were revealed in Madinah regarding Wahshi and his companions."

The phrase of the Exalted, "Indeed, Allah forgives all sins," is placed between the two conjoined elements as an explanation for the first part before reaching the second, to indicate the vastness of His mercy, the Exalted, and that such a One is worthy of being hoped in, no matter how great the sin—especially since it is followed by the words of the Exalted, "Indeed, it is He..." which indicates the exclusivity of forgiveness and mercy in the most eloquent manner. Therefore, the approach [that should be taken] is to treat it as general so that it corresponds with the generality of the beginning, and not restrict it to repentance, lest it contradict the purpose of the interjection. Moreover, it is a plural [noun] defined by the definite article al-, and it has been emphasized in a way that makes it a decisive text for total inclusion. The Mu'tazili argument—that the Great Qur'an is like a single speech and is free from contradiction—does not help him; rather, it harms him, as does the aforementioned record of the causes of revelation.

The discussion contains an indication of some of the factors emphasizing [the concept of] generality that we mentioned earlier. What I find most likely to be correct in my view is the choice that the address in "O My servants" is general to both sinners and disbelievers. The matter of the [divine] attribution is simple. The saying of the Exalted, "Indeed, Allah forgives all sins," is restricted to "whom He wills," based on the evidence of it being explicitly stated in Abdullah’s [ibn Mas'ud] recitation here, and the fact that all matters are connected to the [Divine] Will. We do not accept that the object of the Will is the penitent alone, nor does the fact that it is subject to [Divine] Wisdom—even if that were true—benefit [the opposing view], since establishing that forgiveness for the non-penitent is contrary to wisdom is an impossible task. [This applies] to the polytheist, provided he does not believe, because of the words of the Exalted: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him." Thus, the forgiveness of Shirk is conditional upon faith; the polytheist is included among those "whom He wills" according to the well-known condition, and considering the condition for him does not harm the non-consideration of the condition of repentance for the sinner who has committed lesser offenses.

This is supported by what Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, as well as Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah, and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman from Thawban, who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: 'I would not love to have the world and all it contains in exchange for this verse: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves... to the end of the verse.' A man asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, and he who associates partners with Allah?' The Prophet (peace be upon him) remained silent for a while, then said: 'Even he who associates partners with Allah,' [repeating it] three times." It cannot be said that forgiveness for the one who associates partners is conditional upon Islam; this is an obvious matter, so it is not permissible for it to have been hidden from the questioner, nor from him (peace and blessings be upon him) until he remained silent to wait for revelation or [to exercise] ijtihad. We say: the question was for the sake of expressing the improbability according to custom, and the silence was to teach the behavior of patience and contemplation, even if the matter was obvious.

It has been said: The outward meaning is that it was to wait for permission or ijtihad in explicitly stating the generality of forgiveness, as they might have relied upon that and feared negligence in deeds; this does not contradict the [act of] teaching, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) only teaches them contemplation after he himself (peace be upon him) has contemplated. The claim that the Hadith indicates the condition of repentance is of no substance. The generality of forgiveness [free from] the condition of repentance is supported by what Imam Ahmad, 'Abd bin Hamid, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn al-Anbari in al-Masahif, al-Hakim, and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Asma' bint Yazid, who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recite: 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins and does not care. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.' Truly, 'and does not care' would not have much merit if forgiveness were conditional upon repentance, as is not hidden [from the reader]." Similarly, what Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn Sirin, who said: "Ali (may the face of the Exalted honor him) said: 'Which verse is the most expansive?' People began mentioning verses from the Qur'an: 'Whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself...' (the verse), and the like. Then Ali (may the face of the Exalted honor him) said: 'There is no verse in the Qur'an more expansive than: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves...' (the verse)."

The seventeen points of emphasis mentioned previously are not without some room for debate. The apparent [meaning] is that the forgiveness of a sin is incompatible with being punished for it at all. Some hold that it is compatible if the punishment is less than the sin, but not if it is equal to it. So, whoever is punished in the Fire in the amount of his sin and then brought out of it, it cannot be said that he was "forgiven," for evil deeds are only requited by their like. It is also said: It is compatible [with punishment] absolutely, and the fact that evil deeds are only requited by their like is also from the words of the Exalted, so it is a form of His pardon (the Mighty and Majestic), though there is much to say regarding this—so ponder it.

The root of inabah (returning) is ruju' (to return). The meaning of "And return to your Lord" etc., is: return to Him, the Sublime, by turning away from His disobedience and feeling regret for it. It has also been said: [It means] by dedicating oneself entirely to Him, the Exalted, through worship. Mentioning "the Lord" is like an alert to the cause. Al-Qushayri said: "Inabah is returning completely." The difference between inabah and tawbah (repentance) is that the penitent returns out of fear of punishment, while the munib (the one returning) returns out of bashfulness for His generosity, the Exalted. Submitting to Him, the Sublime, is sincerity in His acts of obedience, the Mighty and Majestic. It has been mentioned that sincerity after inabah is for the servant to know that his turning [to Allah] is by the grace of Allah, not by his own inabah. Thus, it is by His grace, the Sublime, that he arrived at his inabah, not that by his inabah he arrived at His grace (Glorified is His grace). From Ibn Abbas, in a Hadith recorded by Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir from him: "Whoever causes the servants to despair of repentance has rejected the Book of Allah, the Exalted; however, the servant is not able to repent until Allah repents unto him [i.e., turns toward him in forgiveness]."