Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:18

(And repentance is not) [accepted] by Allah (for those who commit sins), meaning acts of disobedience. It is put in the plural form in consideration of its repeated occurrence over a long period of time, not because it intends all types thereof; and by the previously mentioned "evil" (al-su’), a type of it is meant. (Until when death approaches one of them), meaning when he witnesses the conditions upon which it is impossible to return to the world in any way, and he sees the Angel of Death, and the rope of hope is severed, (he says, "Indeed, I have repented now"), meaning at this present time. It is mentioned to specify the time further, and the preference of "he says" (qala) over "he repented" (taba) is to cast it out of the level of consideration and to avoid labeling it "repentance," even if he emphasized it and desired it. Perhaps the reason for this is that such a state is the thing most similar to the Hereafter—or rather, it is the first of its stations—and the world is an abode of action without recompense, while the Hereafter is an abode of recompense without action.

"Until" (hatta) is a particle of initiation (ibtida'), and the conditional sentence after it acts as a limit for what precedes it; that is, "Repentance is not" [accepted] for a people who commit sins until their death arrives and they say such-and-such.

(Nor for those who die while they are disbelievers) is a conjunction to the relative pronoun preceding it; meaning that the acceptance of repentance is not for these, nor for those. The purpose of mentioning the latter, even though there is absolutely no repentance for them, is to exaggerate the lack of acceptance of the repentance of those who procrastinate, and to signal that its existence is as if it were non-existent. Indeed, the repetition of the negation particle in the conjunction, as has been said, carries a subtle indication that the state of the procrastinators in terms of the lack of resultant benefit is stronger than the state of those who die in disbelief.

Many scholars are of the view that (those who commit sins) includes both the corrupt (fusaq) and the disbelievers, and that (those who die...) refers only to the disbelievers. It has been permitted that the two relative pronouns refer specifically to disbelievers, or that both refer only to the corrupt—their naming as "disbelievers" in the current state being for emphasis—or that they encompass both groups together, in which case the naming is for the sake of dominance (taghlib).

Ibn Jarir narrated from al-Rabi’, and Ibn al-Mundhir from Abu al-‘Aliyah, that the first verse was revealed regarding the believers, the second regarding the hypocrites, and the third regarding the polytheists. Placing the middle one regarding the hypocrites provides extra blame upon them, as the committing of sins by others is made, alongside their deeds, as if it were non-existent, as if they committed them while others did not. In this, the subtlety of the expression in the plural for their deeds and the singular for the believers is not hidden. However, this opinion is weakened by the fact that if the hypocrites intended are those persistent in hypocrisy, they have no repentance, which requires negating it [specifically]; otherwise, they and others are the same.

Furthermore, this verse has been used as evidence that the repentance of one in despair [of life] is not accepted, like his faith. There is a dispute regarding this matter; it has been said that the repentance of one in despair is accepted, unlike his faith, because hope remains, and with it, regret and the resolve to desist are valid. Moreover, repentance is the renewal of a covenant with the Lord—Exalted be He—whereas faith is the establishment of a covenant that did not previously exist; there is a difference between the two matters. In al-Bazzaziyyah, it is stated that the correct view is that it is accepted, contrary to the faith of the one in despair. If intercession is accepted on the Day of Resurrection, which is a state of despair, then this is more worthy of acceptance. Judge ‘Abd al-Samad al-Hanafi stated in his Tafsir that it is the school of the Sufis that faith is also of benefit when witnessing the torment. This is supported by the fact that our Master, the Greatest Sheikh (may his secret be sanctified), stated in his Futuhat the validity of faith during compulsion. From Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), it is said: "If a polytheist were to gargle with Islam, I would hope for much good for him."

Some have supported the opinion of the acceptance of the disbeliever's repentance at the time of witnessing [death] through what Ahmad, al-Bukhari in al-Tarikh, al-Hakim, and Ibn Mardawayh narrated from Abu Dharr, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Indeed, Allah accepts the repentance of His servant—or forgives His servant—as long as the veil has not fallen." It was asked: "And what is the falling of the veil?" He said: "That the soul departs while he is a polytheist." It is not hidden that the verse is manifest in what those of the first opinion have held. Some researchers answered this by saying that its import is that the acceptance of the repentance of the procrastinator and the persistent is not realized, and the negation of realization is not the realization of negation; thus, the matter remains for them in a state of suspension: if He wills, He pardons them, and if He wills, He does not. The verse, (Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills), clarifies that He—Glory be to Him—does not will forgiveness for the persistent disbeliever, while the one who repents at the time of death, from whatever sin it may be, remains under His Will.

Some have claimed that there is no true repentance in the middle verse to be accepted; rather, the most that is in it is the saying, ("Indeed, I have repented now"), which is an indication of the absence of sincere repentance. This is why it does not say, "And repentance is not for those who commit sins until death approaches one of them" [and he] repented. Even if one concedes that the expression "saying" is for a reason other than this, one must commit to the view that the restriction to "now" (al-an) suggests a failure to fulfill the conditions of repentance, as it contains a symbol of the lack of resolve to not return to the sin in the future, should survival be possible. Among the conditions of correct repentance is that [resolve]. So ponder this.

(Those)—that is, those mentioned from both groups whose condition reaches the extreme limit of hideousness—(We have prepared for them), meaning We have readied for them—it is said "we have readied" (a’dadna), with the dal substituted for ta’—(a painful punishment), meaning one that causes pain and suffering. The prepositional phrase is placed before the direct object to show concern for the fact that the punishment is prepared for them, and the indefinite form is for magnification. The repetition of the attribution is for what has been mentioned [previously].

The Mu'tazilah used the verse as evidence for the necessity of punishment for those who die from among the major sinners of the believers before repentance. It was answered that the preparing of the punishment is the creation of the Fire with which they are punished, and there is nothing in the verse stating that Allah—Exalted be He—definitely enters them into it. That He—Exalted be He—enters those who die as disbelievers into it is known from other than this verse. It is also possible that the meaning of (We have prepared for them a painful punishment) is "if We do not pardon," as the texts indicate. It is narrated from al-Rabi’ that the verse is abrogated by His saying—Exalted be He—(And He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills).

It was objected that "We have prepared" is a report (khabar), and there is no abrogation in reports. It is said that (those) is a reference to those who die while they are disbelievers, so there is no problem, just as if it were made a reference to both groups, with the first being the hypocrites and the second being the polytheists.