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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And He will punish the hypocrites, if He wills, or accept their repentance”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
punish the hypocrites if He wills وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ إِنْ شَاءَ
[Al-Ahzab 33:24]
Who is the hypocrite? He is the one who displays faith outwardly while concealing disbelief inwardly. The term is derived from *al-nafaqah*, which is the side entrance of a jackrabbit’s burrow; it makes this entrance in its hole so that when someone comes to its main door, it exits through this side entrance.
punish the hypocrites if He wills وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ إِنْ شَاءَ
[Al-Ahzab 33:24]
Rather, if they die upon hypocrisy, Allah the Exalted has informed us that they are in the lowest depth of the Fire, and they are not subject to His will in that regard. Therefore, His saying:
If he wishes إن شاء
“So that they may remain upon their hypocrisy until they die.” If they remain upon their hypocrisy until death, we know that Allah has willed their punishment. However, if Allah guides them, the hypocrites may be guided. For this reason, he said:
Not for you, [O Muhammad, but for Allah], is the decision whether He should [cut them down] or forgive them or punish them, for indeed, they are wrongdoers. أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ
[Ali 'Imran 3:128]
“So that He may grant them success in repentance.” The correct view, as has been mentioned to us many times, is that the repentance of a hypocrite is valid. This is explicit in the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(145) Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper - (146) Except for those who repent, correct themselves, hold fast to Allah, and are sincere in their religion for Allah, for those will be with the believers. And Allah is going to give the believers a great reward. إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَاعْتَصَمُوا بِاللَّهِ وَأَخْلَصُوا دِينَهُمْ لِلَّهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ مَعَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
[Surah al-Nisa: 146]. So His saying:
Not for you, [O Muhammad, but for Allah], is the decision whether He should [cut them down] or forgive them or punish them, for indeed, they are wrongdoers. أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ
[Ali 'Imran 3:128]
“Or accept their repentance” means that He grants them the favor of repentance, so they repent, and in that case, they are not punished.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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