ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ
Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allah forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.
Tafsir
Verse range: 9:80
"Ask forgiveness for them, or..."
Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Ubayy—who was a righteous man—asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to seek forgiveness for his father during his illness, and he did so. Then this verse was revealed. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Allah has granted me a choice, so I will increase [my seeking of forgiveness] beyond seventy." Then [the verse] was revealed: "It is all the same for them whether you ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them" (Al-Munafiqun: 6).
We have previously mentioned that this command is in the meaning of a statement, as if it were said: "Allah will not forgive them, whether you ask forgiveness for them or do not." It also contains the meaning of a condition. We have also mentioned the subtle point regarding why it was phrased in the form of a command.
The number "seventy" is used in their speech as a proverb for multiplication [i.e., a large number]. Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said: I shall surely confront Al-As and the son of Al-As, With seventy thousand, those who bind their forelocks.
If you ask: How could this have been hidden from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), when he is the most eloquent of the Arabs and the most knowledgeable of their linguistic styles and metaphors? And what is understood from mentioning this number is the abundance of seeking forgiveness. How could it be, when he followed it by saying: "That is because they disbelieved..." (the verse), thereby clarifying the factor preventing their forgiveness, to the point that he said: "My Lord has granted me a choice, so I will increase beyond seventy"?
I say: It was not hidden from him. Rather, he spoke as he did to manifest the extremity of his mercy and compassion for those to whom he was sent, similar to the saying of Ibrahim (peace be upon him): "And whoever disobeys me—indeed, You are [all-]Forgiving and Merciful" (Ibrahim: 36). In the Prophet’s (ﷺ) manifestation of compassion and mercy, there is a kindness to his nation and an invitation for them to show mercy to one another.
"Those who remained behind rejoiced at their staying behind the Messenger of Allah, and they disliked to strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah, and said, 'Do not go forth in the heat.' Say, 'The fire of Hell is more intense in heat,' if they would understand."
