Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:6

{And they hasten you with the evil before the good} Meaning: with punishment before well-being, and [before] the favor shown to them by granting them respite. This is because they asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to bring the torment upon them, mocking his warning.

{And there have passed on before them the mathulāt} Meaning: the punishments of those like them among the deniers. Why, then, do they not take heed from them so that they might cease their mockery?

• Al-muthla (the punishment) is on the scale of samura.
• It is called muthla due to the resemblance (mumathala) between the punishment and the act for which one is punished, as in: {And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it} (Ash-Shura: 40).
• It is said: "I exacted amthaltu (retribution) for the man from his companion," just as one says aqṣaṣtuhu (I took retaliation for him). Al-mithāl means retaliation (qiṣāṣ).

• Readings:
  • Al-mathulāt: With two dammahs (following the vowel of the first letter with the second).
  • Al-mathlāt: With a fatha on the mīm and a sukun on the thāʾ, as one says samura.
  • Al-muthlāt: With a dammah on the mīm and a sukun on the thāʾ, as a simplification of mathulāt.
  • Al-mathulāt is the plural of muthla, like rukba and rukabāt.

{And indeed, your Lord is full of forgiveness for the people despite their wrongdoing} Meaning: despite their wronging of themselves through sins. Its grammatical position is that of a state (ḥāl), meaning: "while they are wronging themselves."

• Interpretations of this forgiveness:
  1. It refers to the minor sins that are expiated for those who avoid major sins.
  2. It refers to major sins, provided there is repentance.
  3. It refers to "forgiveness" as concealment and granting respite.

It is narrated that when this was revealed, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Were it not for the pardon of Allah and His overlooking, no one would enjoy life; and were it not for His threat and His punishment, everyone would rely [on His mercy and abandon obedience]."

{And those who disbelieve say, "Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?" You are only a warner, and for every people is a guide.}