Reconciling the verse prohibiting seeking forgiveness for polytheists with the hadith “O Allah, forgive my people”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He asks: How do you reconcile the saying of Allah the Exalted,[At-Tawbah 9:113], with the hadith Sahih al-Bukhari 3477?
Answer:
This is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said,Sahih al-Bukhari 3477. He was merely quoting the words of a previous prophet and did not seek forgiveness for the polytheists himself. What is established from him is that he says, “O Allah, guide my people, for they do not know.”
He asks: How do you reconcile the saying of Allah the Exalted,
It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists
مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَO Allah! Forgive my nation, for they have no knowledge.
اللهم اغفر لقومي فإنهم لا يعلمونAnswer:
This is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said,
O Allah! Forgive my nation, for they have no knowledge.
اللهم اغفر لقومي فإنهم لا يعلمون.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، كيف الجمع بين قوله تعالى ﴿ما كان للنبي والذين آمنوا أن يستغفروا للمشركين﴾وبين حديث... — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.