Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:116

{Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners should be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.} Its explanation has passed previously. It was repeated for emphasis, and this location was specified for it to serve as a completion to the story of those mentioned earlier, by mentioning the promise after mentioning the warning within the previous verses; thus, the length of the interval does not pose a problem. Or, it may be because the verse has another cause for its revelation. Al-Tha'labi reported from Ibn Abbas, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with them both, that an old man from the Arabs came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: "I am an old man immersed in sins, yet I have not associated anything with Allah the Exalted since I knew Him and believed in Him, and I have not taken any protector besides Him, nor have I fallen into acts of disobedience out of boldness, nor have I imagined for the blinking of an eye that I could escape Allah the Exalted by fleeing. I am remorseful and repentant; so what do you see as my state before Allah the Exalted?" Then [the verse] was revealed: {And whoever associates anything with Allah...}—meaning any [form of] polytheism or any of the creation; the negation of the Creator is also included in the meaning of associating partners with Him, and it is not far-fetched for it to be one of its instances—{...has certainly strayed far astray}—that is, from the truth, or [strayed in a manner] that occurs from one who possesses even the slightest amount of intellect.

The penalty was linked to what was stated here—{has certainly strayed far astray}—whereas in the previous [instance of the verse], it was linked to {he has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin}, because those [mentioned previously] were the People of the Book, who were informed by their scriptures of matters regarding the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the obligation to follow his law, and the faith in Allah the Exalted that he invited to, which they did not doubt to be true; yet, they associated partners and disbelieved. Thus, that became a fabrication, a falsehood, and a great boldness against Allah the Exalted. As for this verse, it was concerning people who knew no scripture and had no prior knowledge of revelation, and to whom no one had come except the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with guidance and the religion of truth, yet they associated partners with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, disbelieved, and strayed, despite the clarity of the evidence and the brilliance of the proof; therefore, their straying was "far." For that reason, after those [verses] came: {Have you not seen those who claim themselves to be pure?}—and He, glory be to Him, said: {Look how they fabricate lies about Allah.} And after this [verse] came His saying, the Exalted: