At-Tahrim: (8) O you who believe...
{A sincere repentance (tawbah nasuh)}
Repentance is described as "sincere" (nasuh) through metaphorical attribution. Nush (sincerity) is a quality of the repentant; it means they advise themselves through repentance, performing it in its proper manner—remedying past lapses and erasing sins. This is achieved by:
- Repenting from ugly deeds because they are ugly.
- Feeling remorse for committing them.
- Grieving intensely for having done them.
- Resolving never to return to any ugly deed, just as milk does not return to the udder, and firmly grounding themselves in this resolve.
From Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): He heard a Bedouin say, "O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You." He said, "O man, the quickness of the tongue in repentance is the repentance of liars." He asked, "What is repentance?" He replied, "It is gathered in six things:
- Remorse for past sins.
- Performing the missed obligatory acts.
- Returning rights to those wronged.
- Seeking pardon from adversaries.
- Resolving never to return to the sin.
- Dissolving your soul in the obedience of Allah just as you nourished it in disobedience, and making it taste the bitterness of obedience just as you made it taste the sweetness of disobedience."
Other perspectives:
- Hudhayfah: It is enough evil for a man to repent of a sin and then return to it.
- Shahr ibn Hawshab: That he does not return, even if he were cut with swords or burned with fire.
- Ibn al-Sammak: That you place the sin—for which you lacked modesty before Allah—before your eyes and prepare for what awaits you.
- General view: A repentance from which one does not repent again.
- Al-Suddi: Repentance is not valid except by advising one's soul and the believers, for whoever’s repentance is sound loves for people to be like him.
- Linguistic interpretations: Some say nasuh comes from nasahah (darning/mending), meaning a repentance that mends the tears in your religion. Others say it means "pure," like honey that is pure from wax. It may also mean a repentance that "advises" others, calling them to do the same through the visible impact of the repentance on the person and their firm resolve in action.
Grammatical notes: Zayd ibn Ali read it as tawban nasuhan. It is also read as nasuh (with a damma), which is a verbal noun for nasaha.
{Perhaps your Lord will...}
This is an enticement from Allah to His servants. It has two aspects:
- It follows the custom of the mighty, who answer with "perhaps" ('asa) and "maybe" (la'alla), which from them carries the weight of certainty and finality.
- It is brought to teach servants the necessity of balancing between fear and hope.
The first meaning is supported by the reading of Ibn Abi 'Abla: wa yudkhilukum (in the jussive mood), as a conjunction to the place of 'asa an yukaffira. It is as if it were said: "Repent, and it will necessitate the expiation of your sins and His admitting you..."
{...on the Day when Allah will not disgrace...}
"Will not disgrace" (la yukhzi) is an allusion to those whom Allah has disgraced among the disbelievers and the corrupt, and a way of showing favor to the believers for protecting them from such a state.
{...their light running...}
On the Bridge (al-sirat).
{...perfect our light for us...}
- Ibn Abbas: They say this when the light of the hypocrites is extinguished, out of fear.
- Al-Hasan: Allah is already perfecting it for them, but they supplicate to draw near to Allah, like His saying: {And ask forgiveness for your sin} (Ghafir: 55), even though he is already forgiven.
- Another view: The lowest in rank say this, as they are given light only enough to see where they step—since light is according to deeds—so they ask for its perfection as a grace.
- Another view: Those who race to Paradise pass like lightning, some like the wind, and some crawling. These are the ones who say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light."
If you ask: How can they fear when the believers are secure? Or how can they seek to draw near when the Hereafter is not a place for drawing near?
I answer: As for fear, it is permissible for it to be a human reaction even if they believe they are secure. As for drawing near, since their state is like those who draw near—seeking what is already theirs of mercy—it is called "drawing near."
