Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:27

(And Allah wants to accept your repentance): Some have considered this a repetition of what preceded it, for the sake of emphasis and hyperbole. This is evident if the intended meaning of "repentance" here and there is the same thing. However, if one interprets "to accept repentance" in the first instance as the acceptance of repentance and guidance, for example, and in the second as "that they do what makes them deserving of acceptance," then it is not a repetition. Furthermore, this logic only holds if "to clarify for you" (li-yubayyina lakum) is taken as an objective (ma‘mul); otherwise, there is no repetition anyway, because the connection of the Will to repentance in the first instance is by way of causality, whereas in the second, it is by way of the object. Thus, a distinction is inevitably achieved.

(And those who follow [their] desires want...): This refers to the immoral (fasaqah), because they revolve around the cravings of their own selves without shunning them. It is as if, through their immersion in these desires, their desires commanded them to follow them, and they obeyed that command and followed them; thus, it is a metaphorical representation (isti‘arah tamthiliyyah). As for one who engages only in what the Law has permitted of them and nothing else, he is a follower of the Law, not of the desires themselves. This has been narrated from Ibn Zayd. Mujahid recorded from Ibn Abbas that they are the fornicators. Ibn Jarir recorded from al-Suddi that they are the Jews and the Christians. It has also been said: They are specifically the Jews, as they claimed that a paternal sister is lawful in the Torah. It is also said: They are the Magians, since they permitted marriage with paternal sisters on the basis that they do not share a womb, as well as the daughters of brothers and sisters, by drawing an analogy to the daughters of paternal and maternal aunts, on the basis that their mothers are not lawful [to marry]. They wanted to lead the believers astray through what was mentioned, saying: "Why do you permit those and not these?" So this was revealed.

The phrasing between the two sentences was varied to distinguish between the Will of Allah Almighty and the will of the deviators.

(That you might deviate [tilt]): From the truth by agreeing with them, thus becoming like them. According to Mujahid, it means: "that you might commit adultery as they commit adultery."

It was also recited with a ya (yamīlū - that they might deviate), in which case the pronoun refers back to "those who follow [their] desires."

(A great deviation): In comparison to the deviation of one who commits a sin rarely and admits that it is a sin and does not deem it lawful.