Ruh al-Ma'ani on An-Nisa' 4:17

Surah An-Nisa' 4:17



ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ

The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

{إنما التوبة على الله} i.e., the acceptance of repentance. Although "upon" (ʿalā) is used to indicate obligation—leading some to argue that repentance is obligatory upon Him—the intent is that it is a realization that is absolutely established, as if by a preceding promise, to the extent that it becomes like one of the [divine] obligations. This is similar to saying: "The Necessarily Existent" (wajib al-wujud). It has been said that "upon" (ʿalā) here bears the meaning of "from" (min), and others said it means "with" (ʿinda), which is the position of al-Tabarsi; i.e., "Repentance is only with Allah."

{للذين يعملون السوء} "Repentance" is the subject (mubtada'), and "for those" (li-alladhīna) is its predicate. "Upon Allah" is linked to the same entity that the predicate is linked to, implying established existence, or it is linked to a hidden element that serves as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the pronoun hidden within the noun linked to the prepositional phrase serving as the predicate—according to the opinion of those who permit the circumstantial qualifier to precede its governing agent when it is an adverbial construction (zaraf). Some have compared this to the phrase, "Eat this fresh (basran) as something better than it when it is ripe (ratban)." It is also permitted that "upon Allah" is linked to a hidden element serving as an adjective for "repentance"—i.e., "Repentance which is upon Allah"—and "for those" remains the predicate, which is apparent according to the opinion of those who permit the omission of the relative pronoun along with part of its clause. Abu al-Baqa’ mentioned the possibility that "upon Allah" is the predicate, and "for those" is linked to a hidden element serving as a circumstantial qualifier for the pronoun hidden in the noun linked to the predicate. It is also possible that it is linked to the same entity that the predicate is linked to. It is not hidden that the flow of the verse supports designating "for those" as the predicate, as is obvious to anyone who does not force an interpretation out of ignorance.

{بجهالة} This is a circumstantial qualifier for the agent of {yaʿmalūn} (they do), i.e., "they do evil" while being cloaked in ignorance, or it is linked to {yaʿmalūn}, with the 'ba' signifying causality. The intent of "ignorance" here is folly and stupidity in committing what does not befit a rational person, not a lack of knowledge—contrary to al-Jubba'i. For one who does not know has no need for repentance. Ignorance in this sense is a standard usage in the speech of the Arabs, as in the poet's saying: "Let no one act in ignorance toward us, for we will act with ignorance exceeding the ignorance of the ignorant."

From this, Mujahid said, in what al-Bayhaqi recorded from him in al-Shuʿab and others: "Everyone who disobeys his Lord is ignorant until he desists from his disobedience." ʿAbd al-Razzaq and Ibn Jarir recorded from Qatadah who said: "The companions of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, agreed that everything by which one disobeys is 'ignorance,' whether done intentionally or otherwise." Similar accounts have been narrated from Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with both. Abu ʿAbdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Every sin the servant commits, even if he is knowledgeable, he is ignorant in it at that moment because he risked himself in disobedience to his Lord." Allah the Exalted recounted the words of Yusuf, peace be upon him, to his brothers: {Did you know what you did to Yusuf and his brother when you were ignorant?} He attributed ignorance to them because they risked themselves in disobedience to Allah the Exalted. Al-Farra’ said: "The meaning of His saying, may He be exalted, {bijehalatin} is that they do not know the depth of the punishment contained in the disobedience."

Al-Zajjaj said: "The meaning of that is their choosing the fleeting pleasure over the lasting pleasure."

{ثم يتوبون من قريب} i.e., from a near time, which is before the onset of death, as indicated by what will come later in His saying, the Exalted: {until when death arrives...} etc. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in the last sermon he delivered: "Whoever repents before his death by a year, Allah the Exalted will accept his repentance." Then he said: "And a year is much. Whoever repents before his death by a month, Allah the Exalted will accept his repentance." Then he said: "And a month is much. Whoever repents before his death by a day, Allah the Exalted will accept his repentance." Then he said: "And a day is much. Whoever repents before his death by an hour, Allah the Exalted will accept his repentance." Then he said: "And an hour is much. Whoever repents before his death while his soul has reached this"—and he pointed with his noble hand to his throat—"Allah will accept his repentance."

Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi recorded from Ibn ʿUmar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "Allah accepts the repentance of the servant as long as the soul has not reached the throat (yugharghir)."

Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded from Qatadah who said: "We were with Anas ibn Malik, and Abu Qulabah was there. Abu Qulabah narrated: 'When Allah the Exalted cursed Iblis, he asked for respite, and He granted him respite until the Day of Judgment. He said: By Your Might, I will not cease removing [the faith] from the heart of the son of Adam as long as the spirit is in him. Allah said: By My Might, I will not bar repentance from him as long as the spirit is in him.'" Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn ʿAbbas who said: "The 'near' is what is between him and the moment he looks at the Angel of Death." Similar accounts were narrated from al-Dahhak and ʿIkrimah: "The entire world is 'near'." According to Imam al-Qushayri, the 'near' on the tongue of the scholars is "before death," and on the tongue of the practitioners of the path, it is "before the soul becomes accustomed to evil and it becomes like a nature for it." Perhaps they mean that if it becomes such, [repentance] becomes distant from acceptance, even if it is not impossible for his repentance to be accepted.

The 'min' (from) is partitive (tabʿidiyyah); it is as if the time between the occurrence of the sin and the arrival of death is designated as a "near time," and so in any part of this time that he repents, he is a repenter in some part of a near time. Some have made it for the beginning of the limit (ibtida' al-ghayah), but the first is stronger because 'min' does not enter upon time to denote the beginning of the limit according to the famous opinion; those which do are mudh and mundhu. The use of 'thumma' (then) signals the vastness of His pardon, the Exalted.

{فأولئك} i.e., those characterized by what was mentioned, including the sense of distance—considering they are effectively "distant" by the end of the mention of them. It is permitted that this signals the distance of their rank and the loftiness of their status in that they are repenters. The address is to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or to anyone suitable for the address. The 'fa' (so) indicates causality. The demonstrative noun is the subject, and its predicate is His saying, the Exalted: {Allah will accept their repentance.} The repetition of the attribution within it serves to strengthen the judgment. This is a promise of fulfillment of what He, the Exalted, promised earlier, so there is no redundancy. He included in "accepts repentance" (yatūbu) the meaning of "shows mercy" (yaʿtifu), which is why it is linked with 'ʿalā'.

It is permitted that this is from the theological method, as if it were said: "Repentance is like a duty upon Allah the Exalted, and everything that is like a duty upon Him is inevitably occurring; therefore, repentance is a matter that will inevitably occur." The first verse acts as the minor premise, and the major premise is implicit, with the second verse acting as the conclusion.

{وكان الله عليما} He knows the sincerity of those who repent. ### {حكيما} So He does not punish the one who repents. The sentence is a parenthetical clause confirming the content of what preceded it. Using the explicit noun (Allah) in the place where a pronoun could have been used serves to signal the cause of the judgment.

Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:17

Ruh al-Ma'ani