Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills," and reconciling this verse with His saying
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :[Al-Baqarah 2:284]
The verse affirms the will of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and that He does what He wills. There is no one who can turn back His decree, no one who can repel His judgment, and He is not questioned about what He does, for the Mighty and Majestic does nothing except for a wisdom, whether we know it or not. In another verse:[An-Nisa 4:48] This verse obligates the sinners who disobey Allah without associating partners with Him to be negligent. When you forbid them from a sin they commit, they say, and they tell you, "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." [An-Nisa 4:48] How does Satan whisper to them, making them act upon the ambiguous parts of the Qur'an and leave the clear ones? Now, are you certain that you are among those whom Allah wills to forgive? Answer, everyone? No, because He did not say: [An-Nisa 4:48] He did not limit it; He limited it. What did He say? So, are you certain that you are among those whom Allah wills to forgive? You are not certain. Furthermore, sins drag one another along. That is why looking at a woman who is not a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to you is forbidden. Why? Just a look. Why is it forbidden? Because it leads to unlawful sexual intercourse. In reality, sins are interconnected. If you are negligent about one sin, Satan makes it easy for you to commit a greater one, and then a greater one, until he leads you to associating partners with Allah. Listen to what Allah said about those whose hearts are overwhelmed by sin, or what they said about the verses of Allah? [Al-Qalam 68:15] This means these are trifles, they are nothing. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Mutaffifin 83:14] Look, sins make a person imagine that the verses of Allah are the myths of the ancients, because their meaning does not reach his heart, and may Allah protect us, his heart is covered over, so faith in these verses does not reach his heart and does not benefit his heart in any way, because what he used to earn has settled upon his heart. So, sins, my brother, beware of them; do not be negligent with them.
Then He will forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills
فَيَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ يَشَاءُThe verse affirms the will of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and that He does what He wills. There is no one who can turn back His decree, no one who can repel His judgment, and He is not questioned about what He does, for the Mighty and Majestic does nothing except for a wisdom, whether we know it or not. In another verse: