| Al Imran: (16) Those who say, "Our Lord..."

There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: Grammatical Analysis of {Those who say}

There are several possibilities for the grammatical position of the phrase {Those who say}:

1. Genitive Case (Khifḍ): It could be an adjective describing those who fear (المتقون) mentioned previously, with the implied structure being: "For those who fear, [there are rewards], those who say..." Alternatively, it could describe the servants (العباد), implying: "And Allah is All-Seeing of the servants, and those are the pious ones, those who have gardens with their Lord, those who say..."
2. Accusative Case (Naṣb): It could be in the accusative case, used for commendation (مدح).
3. Nominative Case (Rafʿ): It could be in the nominative case, used for specification (تخصيص), with the implied structure being: "They are those who say..."

Issue 2: The Implication of Seeking Forgiveness Based on Faith Alone

It is narrated from them that they first said, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed" (ربنا إننا ءامنا), and then they immediately followed this by saying, "So forgive us our sins" (فاغفر لنا ذنوبنا).

This sequence indicates that they used mere belief (Iman) as a means (Tawassul) to request forgiveness. Since Allah recounts this in a manner that praises and commends them, it proves that a servant, based on mere faith, deserves mercy and forgiveness from Allah.

If someone argues that Iman here means all acts of obedience, we refute this by the proofs already mentioned in the exegesis of the verse {Those who believe in the unseen} (الذين يؤمنون بالغيب).

Furthermore, if someone obeys Allah in all matters and repents from all sins, then for Allah to admit them to the Fire would be considered ugly (qabīḥ) in their view. The ugly is that which necessitates either ignorance or neediness on the part of the doer. Both ignorance and neediness are impossible for Allah. Since the consequence of an impossible premise is impossible, Allah admitting them to the Fire is impossible. If an event is rationally impossible, then supplicating and humbling oneself to prevent Allah from doing it is futile and improper.

A similar verse is found at the end of this Surah: "Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, 'Believe in your Lord,' so we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and cover over our evil deeds and cause us to die with the righteous." (Al Imran: 193).

Objection: Did Allah not make the totality of obedience a prerequisite for receiving forgiveness, as He followed this verse with the mention of {the patient, and the truthful} (Al Imran: 17)?

Response: The interpretation of this verse is as we have stated. Allah made mere belief the means to request forgiveness. Then, He subsequently mentioned the attributes of the obedient: being patient and truthful. If these attributes were conditions (sharā’iṭ) for obtaining forgiveness, it would have been more appropriate to mention them before the request for forgiveness. Since the request for forgiveness was linked directly to mere belief, and these attributes were mentioned afterward, we know that these attributes are not considered for obtaining the basis of forgiveness, but rather for attaining the perfection of ranks.