Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:40

Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Verse 40

[40] أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ يُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir):

After establishing the ruling regarding the cutting off of the hand (for theft) and the punishment in the Hereafter before repentance, the Almighty then mentioned that He accepts the repentance of the thief if they repent.

Following this, He immediately clarified that He has the right to do as He wills and judge as He desires: He punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He wills.

The reason punishment was mentioned before forgiveness is that the theft preceded the repentance.

Al-Wahidi stated: This verse is clear evidence for the Qadariyyah (who emphasize free will and divine justice in a specific way) regarding Divine Justice (ta'deel) and permissibility (tajweez). It refutes their claim that mercy is obligatory upon the obedient and punishment is obligatory upon the disobedient by God. This is because the verse indicates that mercy is entrusted to His Will (Mashi'ah), and obligation (wujub) contradicts that concept.

My Commentary (Al-Razi):

There is another perspective here that invalidates their claim. This is because the Almighty first mentioned: {أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ} (Did you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth?), and then followed it with: {يُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ} (He punishes whom He wills and forgives whom He wills).

This indicates that it is appropriate for Him to inflict punishment sometimes and grant forgiveness at other times because He is the Owner of creation, their Lord, and their God.

This aligns with the position of our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah), who maintain that everything He wills and desires is good (husn) for Him because He is the Owner of all created things. The owner has the right to dispose of his property as he wishes and wills.

However, the Mu'tazilah argue that the goodness (husn) of these actions stems not from His being the God and Owner of creation, but from His consideration of benefits (masalih) and harms (mafasid). This verse explicitly refutes their view, as we have clarified.

[41] يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ لَا يَحْزُنكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَلَمْ تُؤْمِن قُلُوبُهُمْ ۛ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا ۛ سَمَّاعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ سَمَّاعُونَ لِقَوْمٍ آخَرِينَ لَمْ يَأْتُوكَ ۖ يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوَاضِعِهِ ۖ يَقُولُونَ إِنْ أُوتِيتُمْ هَٰذَا فَخُذُوهُ وَإِن لَّمْ تُؤْتَوْهُ فَاحْذَرُوا ۚ وَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَن تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يُطَهِّرَ قُلُوبَهُمْ ۖ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

Translation:

O Messenger, let not those who hasten into disbelief grieve you—from among those who say with their mouths, "We have believed," while their hearts have not believed—or from among those who are Jews. They are listeners for falsehood, listeners for another people who have not come to you. They distort the words from their proper places, saying, "If you are given this, take it; but if you are not given it, beware." And whoever Allah intends to put to trial, you will never possess for him anything from Allah. Those are the ones whose hearts Allah does not intend to purify. For them in this world is disgrace, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.