Explanation of the Verse of Repentance: The Meaning of “Nearness” and “Ignorance”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I hope you will explain this verse. Allah says: [An-Nisa 4:17] to the end of the verse. If a person repents after decades, does he fall under this? Since “nearness” here is not restricted, what is meant by “ignorance”? Is it ignorance of the legal ruling, or ignorance of its contradiction with Allah the Exalted due to his lack of adherence, which is the heedlessness that controls many people and the hardness of heart? And what is your advice to us through this verse?
The Shaykh : Yes, in this verse Allah the Exalted and Sublime obligated upon Himself, out of His generosity and grace,[An-Nisa 4:17] meaning they repent before death. The evidence that this is the “nearness” is His statement in the verse that follows:
The questioner :[An-Nisa 4:18] The meaning of “ignorance” here is foolishness, which is opposing the command intentionally, not out of ignorance, because “ignorance” (jahl) is not the same as “foolishness” (jahlah). “Jahlah” is foolishness, as the Arab poet said: “Let no one be foolish with us, for we will be more foolish than the foolishness of the ignorant,” meaning foolishness and aggression. So, if one does evil out of “jahlah,” meaning foolishness and opposing the command intentionally, and then Allah grants him mercy and he repents [An-Nisa 4:17] no matter how great his sin, Allah the Exalted said: [Az-Zumar 39:53]
The Shaykh : The Forgiving, the Merciful. We ask Allah the Exalted to accept our repentance and yours all together. Perhaps this is a good conclusion for this session, so we ask Allah to forgive our shortcomings and pardon our mistakes. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after
إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍThe Shaykh : Yes, in this verse Allah the Exalted and Sublime obligated upon Himself, out of His generosity and grace,
The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after
التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِن قَرِيبٍThe questioner :
But repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now,"
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَsoon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness
مِن قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْSay, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed,
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُThe Shaykh : The Forgiving, the Merciful. We ask Allah the Exalted to accept our repentance and yours all together. Perhaps this is a good conclusion for this session, so we ask Allah to forgive our shortcomings and pardon our mistakes. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1413هـ - 2 — binothaimeen.net (1:05:38)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.