Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:17

"Repentance is only upon Allah..."

"For those who do evil in ignorance" The phrase "in ignorance" (bi-jahala) is in the position of a state (hal). It means they commit evil while being ignorant and foolish, for the commission of ugliness is prompted by foolishness and desire, not by wisdom and reason. According to Mujahid, whoever disobeys Allah is ignorant until he desists from his ignorance.

"From near" Meaning: from a near time. A "near time" is that which precedes the presence of death. Do you not see His saying: "Until, when death approaches one of them"? He clarifies that the time of death-throes is the time when repentance is not accepted; therefore, whatever precedes that remains under the ruling of "near."

• Ibn Abbas said: "Before the authority of death descends upon him."
• Ad-Dahhak said: "Every repentance before death is 'near'."
• An-Nakha'i said: "As long as he is not choked [by the death rattle]."
• Abu Ayyub narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ): "Allah Almighty accepts the repentance of the servant as long as he does not reach the death rattle (yugharghir)."
• 'Ata' said: "And not before his death by the duration of a she-camel's milking."
• Al-Hasan narrated: When Iblis was cast down to earth, he said, "By Your Might, I will not cease to tempt the son of Adam as long as his soul is in his body." Allah replied, "By My Might, I will not close the door of repentance upon him as long as he does not reach the death rattle."

If you ask: What is the meaning of "from" (min) in His saying "from near"? I say: It signifies partiality (tab'id). It means they repent during a portion of a near time. It is as if He named the interval between the occurrence of the sin and the presence of death a "near time." Thus, in whatever part of this time he repents, he is considered to have repented "from near"; otherwise, he has repented "from far."

If you ask: What is the benefit of His saying "Those—Allah will accept their repentance" after saying "Repentance is only upon Allah" for them? I say: The saying "Repentance is only upon Allah" is an announcement of its obligation upon Him, just as certain acts of obedience are obligatory upon the servant. The saying "Those—Allah will accept their repentance" is a promise that He will fulfill what is obligatory upon Him, and an announcement that forgiveness will inevitably occur, just as a servant promises to fulfill an obligation.

"Nor [is there repentance for] those who die while they are disbelievers" This is conjoined to "those who do evil." He equates those who delay their repentance until the presence of death with those who die in disbelief, in that there is no repentance for them. This is because the presence of death is the first of the states of the Hereafter. Just as the one who dies in disbelief has certainly missed the opportunity for repentance, so too has the one who delays it until the presence of death, as both have passed the time of accountability and choice.

"Those—We have prepared for them..." This is in the context of a threat, parallel to His saying "Those—Allah will accept their repentance" in the context of a promise, so that it may be clear that both matters will inevitably occur.

If you ask: Who is meant by "those who do evil"? Are they the sinners among the people of the Qibla, or the disbelievers? I say: There are two views:

1. That it refers to the disbelievers, due to the apparent meaning of "while they are disbelievers."
2. That it refers to the sinners, because the discourse concerns the two who commit adultery and the turning away from them if they repent and reform. In this case, the phrase "while they are disbelievers" is used by way of intensification (taghliz), like His saying: "And whoever disbelieves—then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds," or the saying: "Let him die, if he wishes, a Jew or a Christian," or "Whoever abandons prayer intentionally has disbelieved." This is because one who is a believer but dies without having resolved to repent is in a state close to that of a disbeliever, for no one would dare to do that except one with a hardened heart.