Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:118

The meaning is: If You punish them, no objection can be attached to You for their punishment, because You are their absolute Owner, and there is no objection to an absolute Owner regarding what He does with His property.

It is also said: The meaning is, if You punish them, none of them will be able to ward that off from themselves, for they are Your servants—the enslaved, in the captivity of Your dominion. And what does the power of a servant amount to alongside the power of his Owner?

It is also said: The meaning is, if You punish them, they deserve that, because they are Your servants who have worshipped others besides You, disobeyed Your command, and said what they said. This is attributed to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), though it is distant from the [literal] arrangement of the text—though it is not far-fetched that the arrangement contains an indication of it.

This means: If You forgive them for what they committed, no inability is attached to You by that, nor is it seen as something unsightly, for You are the Powerful, Capable of all determined things—among which are reward and punishment—and the Wise, Who does not intend or do anything except that which contains wisdom.

Forgiveness for a disbeliever does not lack an aspect of wisdom, for forgiveness is considered a virtue for any criminal by rational standards. Indeed, the greater the crime, the more virtuous is the pardon, as it is more indicative of generosity—even if punishment is better in the ruling of the Sharia from other perspectives. The non-forgiveness of the disbeliever is by the ruling of the textual evidence and consensus, not because of an intrinsic impossibility within it, such that the alternation and connection would be prevented.

The Imam [ar-Razi] has narrated that the forgiveness of polytheism is permissible according to us, and according to the majority of the Basran Mu’tazila. They said: Because punishment is a right of Allah Almighty upon the sinner, and there is no harm to Allah Almighty in waiving it.

Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh recorded from al-Suddi that the meaning of the verse is: "If You punish them," meaning by letting them die in their Christianity, so that the punishment becomes binding upon them, "then they are Your servants. And if You forgive them," meaning by bringing them out of Christianity and guiding them to Islam, "then indeed You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise." This is the statement of Jesus (peace be upon him) in the worldly life.

It is not hidden that this contradicts what the context requires.

It is said: The alternation relates to two groups, and the meaning is: If You punish them—meaning those among them who disbelieved—then they are Your servants; and if You forgive them and pardon those among them who believed, then You are, etc. This is very distant.

The manifest meaning of what they have said is that His saying, "And if You forgive them," does not contain an insinuation of asking for forgiveness; rather, it is to demonstrate His power and wisdom. That is why He said, "the Exalted in Might, the Wise," instead of "the Forgiving, the Merciful," even though the apparent context might necessitate the latter.

Regarding what has come in the reports—such as what Ahmad recorded in the Musannaf, al-Nasa’i, and al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan from Abu Dharr, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed one night and recited one verse until morning, bowing and prostrating with it: 'If You punish them, then they are Your servants,' etc. When morning came, I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you continued to recite this verse until morning.' He said: 'I asked my Lord Almighty for intercession, and He granted it to me, and it shall reach, if Allah Almighty wills, those who do not associate anything with Allah.'"

And what was recorded by Muslim, Ibn Abi al-Dunya in Husn al-Zann, al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat, and others from Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited the saying of Allah Almighty regarding Abraham (peace be upon him): "My Lord, indeed they have misled many among the people. So whoever follows me - then he is of me," and the saying of the Mighty and Majestic regarding Jesus son of Mary: "If You punish them, then they are Your servants. And if You forgive them," etc. Then he raised his hands and said: "O Allah, my Ummah, my Ummah," and he wept. Allah, Whose mercy is great, said: "O Gabriel, go to Muhammad and say to him: 'We will surely please you regarding your Ummah and will not grieve you.'"

And what was recorded by Ibn Marduyah from Abu Dharr, who said: "I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah, you stood up all night with a verse from the Quran,' meaning this verse—'and you have the Quran with you; if one of us did this, we would find fault with him.' He said: 'I called upon Allah Almighty for my Ummah.' I said: 'And what were you answered with?' He said: 'I was answered with that which, if many of them knew of it, they would abandon prayer.' I said: 'Shall I not give the people the glad tidings?' He said: 'Yes.' Then Umar said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if you send word of this to the people, they will rely upon it and abandon worship.' So he called out to him to return, and he returned."

These do not serve as proof that the verse contains an insinuation of seeking forgiveness for the disbeliever, for it is not far-fetched for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to supplicate for his Ummah and seek intercession for them using this arrangement, but in the manner that Jesus (peace be upon him) intended by it. It is possible that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) adapted this from the Quran, using it to express his own intended meaning, and this is not the first adaptation of his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Some scholars have explicitly stated that the opening supplication (du'a al-tawajjuh) of the Shafi'is is of that category, and prayer does not contradict supplication.

What Muslim and others recorded contains nothing more than evidence of his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) compassion for his Ummah, so he supplicated for them with what he supplicated; and that does not depend on the verse containing an insinuation of asking for forgiveness for the disbeliever.

Furthermore, scholars have spoken at length regarding the secret of mentioning those two noble Names in the verse, as their suitability for the context in which they were paired appeared problematic—so much so that it was narrated of some reciters that they changed them due to the feebleness of their intellect, reading: "Indeed, You are the Forgiving, the Merciful," until he was imprisoned and lashed seven times. It occurred to some of those who attacked the Quran among the atheists that what is appropriate is what occurs in the codex of Ibn Mas'ud: "Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving," as narrated by Ibn al-Anbari. You have already learned one of their justifications for this.

It is also said: Mentioning them is by way of caution (ihtiras), because refraining from punishing the criminal might stem from an inability in power or from negligence that contradicts wisdom. Thus, the illusion of that was warded off by mentioning these two names.

In the Amali of al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam, it is stated: "'The Exalted in Might' (al-Aziz) here means the One who has no peer. The meaning is: And if You forgive them, then You are the One who has no peer in Your forgiveness and the breadth of Your mercy, and You are the most worthy to show mercy and the most deserving to forgive and cover. 'The Wise' is He who does not do anything to those who deserve it—and they deserve that due to Your grace and their weakness." This is manifest that the verse contains an insinuation of requesting forgiveness, and I do not think you would say that.

Some have claimed that the two names are related to both conditions, not just the second. In that case, the aspect of their suitability is not hidden, for the one who has the power of action and omission is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. It was stated that this is more suitable, more precise, and more appropriate for the station.