Tafsir of Al-Fath 48:14

(And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth). He—Mighty and Majestic is He—is the One who disposes of all things as He wills. (He forgives whom He wills) to forgive, (and He punishes whom He wills) to punish, without any interference from anyone in any of His forgiveness or punishment, whether in their existence or non-existence. (And Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful).

(Exaggerated in forgiveness for whom He wills, and He—Glorified be He—does not will it except for one whose forgiveness is necessitated by wisdom among those who believe in Him—Glorified be He—and His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. As for those beyond them, such as the defiant disbelievers and the hypocrites, they are definitively excluded from that. The precedence of mention of forgiveness, the appending of His being Forgiving in a form denoting exaggeration, and the addition of "Merciful" to it—which also denotes exaggeration—rather than appending it with what would imply that He is a punisher, all indicate the precedence of mercy. In the Hadith: "Your Lord has written for Himself, by His Hand, before He created the creation: My mercy has preceded My wrath." This precedence, as indicated in Anwar al-Tanzil, is essential; this is because forgiveness and mercy are essential, whereas punishment is accidental, being consequential to the decree, disobedience, and the provocation thereof. More than one scholar has declared that good is what is decreed essentially, and evil is what is decreed accidentally, for there is no particular thing that does not contain a universal good, as detailed in Sharh al-Haya’il.

Some eminent scholars have said that the "precedence" in the Hadith refers to the abundance of mercy and its encompassing nature; likewise, the "prevailing" mentioned in some narrations. This is similar to saying: "Generosity prevails upon so-and-so." Those who categorize mercy and wrath as attributes of action do not find the matter of precedence problematic, nor do they need to categorize it as essential, as is not hidden.

According to Abu Hayyan, the verse serves to grant those hypocrites some hope, should they truly believe. It is also said that it serves to cut off their empty ambitions regarding the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—seeking forgiveness for them. Al-Zamakhshari interpreted the first "whom He wills" as pertaining to repentance, and the second as pertaining to the persistence in sin. He then said: "He—Glorified be He—expiates minor sins through the avoidance of major sins, and forgives major sins through repentance." This is a departure on his part that contradicts the manifest meaning of the verse.

Al-Tayyibi said: It is possible to say that His saying—Exalted be He—(And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens), etc., is positioned as a conclusion to His saying—Exalted be He—(And whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger), on the assumption that its opposite is implied, such as "And whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, We have prepared for the believers Gardens." Thus, nothing is restricted by what it might be restricted by, so as to signal complete disposal, the exercise of will, the bestowal of grace, complete forgiveness, and encompassing mercy. So contemplate this and do not be heedless.