The Exegesis of the Words of Allah the Exalted: << And let not those who possess wealth and abundance among you swear not to give to their relatives, the poor, and the emigrants in the cause of Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Forgiveness (sarfah) may occur without pardon ('afw); a person may turn away from this aggression, but his heart remains filled with resentment toward the other, and he has not pardoned him. Conversely, pardon may occur without forgiveness; a person may overlook the matter and not punish him for his sin, but he remains averse to that sin, mentioning it whenever an opportunity arises. This is the command of Allah the Exalted to do both: to pardon and to forgive. This is analogous to His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Al-Taghabun: 14]. Thus, Allah the Exalted distinguished between pardon and forgiveness. Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nur 24:22] When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) read it, he said: "Yes, I love that Allah forgives me", and he restored to Mistah what he used to spend on him. His statement, "Do you not love that Allah forgive you," is an offer, or rather an exhortation. It is an offer, but in the sense of exhortation; that is, it urges us to love this thing. However, the intention is not merely to love this thing, but to strive for its causes, for whoever loves a thing strives to obtain it. One might claim, "I love that I be forgiven," yet he is immersed in sins, leaving what is obligatory and doing what is forbidden, while saying, "I love that I be forgiven." Leave us with this: is this love sincere? No, it is not sincere, for whoever loves a thing strives to attain it. Therefore, Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nur 24:22] For whoever pardons and forgives others, Allah will forgive him.
Then He said:[Al-Baqarah 2:218] Al-Ghafur (The All-Forgiving) is derived from al-maghfirah (forgiveness), which is the covering of the sin along with overlooking it. It is not merely covering, but covering with overlooking. As for covering without overlooking, that is not forgiveness. We say it is covering with overlooking because overlooking is what provides protection from punishment. The origin of this is from al-maghfar (a helmet), for the helmet covers the head and protects it. This indicates that covering is forgiveness, and covering with protection. This is indicated by the authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): أن الله يخلو بعبده المؤمن يوم القيامة ويقرره بذنوبه حتى إذا أقر بها قال الله : قد سترتها عليك في الدنيا وأنا أغفرها لك اليوم دل ذلك على أن المغفرة غير الستر وإلا لو كانت المغفرة في الدنيا من قبل والمغفرة شيء والستر شيء آخر لكن كل مغفرة تتضمن الستر وليس كل ستر يتضمن المغفرة لأن من غفر لك ولم يعاقبك معناه أنه ستر عليك إذ لو عاقبك لفضحك أبو بكر رضي الله عنه يقول المؤلف وقد رجع نقول رجّع وإلا رجع؟ أي نعم قصدي هل نشدد الجيم أو نخففها ؟ ...قال الله تعالى : فإن رجعك الله إلى طائفة منهم إن رجعك بمعنى ردك لأن رجع في الحقيقة تستعمل متعدية ولازمة رجع فعل ماضي يستعمل متعديا ولازما فإذا قلت رجعت من كذا فهذا لازم وإذا قلت رجعت إلى فلان ما استعرته منه صارت الآن متعدية إذن رجع إلى نسبة ما كان عليه بمعنى رد فتوصف بالتخفيف.
That Allah will be alone with His believing servant on the Day of Resurrection and will confront him with his sins until he acknowledges them. Then Allah will say: "I have concealed them from you in this world, and I forgive them for you today." This indicates that forgiveness is not the same as concealment; otherwise, if forgiveness in this world were merely concealment, forgiveness would be one thing and concealment another. However, every forgiveness includes concealment, but not every concealment includes forgiveness. For if He forgives you and does not punish you, it means He has concealed it from you; for if He had punished you, He would have exposed you. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The author states, "And he returned." We say: did he "return" (rajja'a) or "returned" (rāja'a)? Yes, my intention is: do we emphasize the jīm or lighten it? ... Allah the Exalted said: "If Allah returns you to a group of them." "If He returns you" means "if He sends you back," for "rāja'a" is actually used as both a transitive and an intransitive verb. "Rāja'a" is a past tense verb used transitively and intransitively. If you say "I returned from such-and-such," it is intransitive. If you say "I returned to so-and-so what I borrowed from him," it becomes transitive. Thus, "returning" to a state means "sending back," and it is described as lightened.
O you who have believed, indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon and overlook and forgive - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ وَإِنْ تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌWould you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
ألا تحبون أن يغفر الله لكم والله غفور رحيمWould you not like that Allah should forgive you?
ألا تحبون أن يغفر الله لكمThen He said:
And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
والله غفور رحيمThat Allah will be alone with His believing servant on the Day of Resurrection and will confront him with his sins until he acknowledges them. Then Allah will say: "I have concealed them from you in this world, and I forgive them for you today." This indicates that forgiveness is not the same as concealment; otherwise, if forgiveness in this world were merely concealment, forgiveness would be one thing and concealment another. However, every forgiveness includes concealment, but not every concealment includes forgiveness. For if He forgives you and does not punish you, it means He has concealed it from you; for if He had punished you, He would have exposed you. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The author states, "And he returned." We say: did he "return" (rajja'a) or "returned" (rāja'a)? Yes, my intention is: do we emphasize the jīm or lighten it? ... Allah the Exalted said: "If Allah returns you to a group of them." "If He returns you" means "if He sends you back," for "rāja'a" is actually used as both a transitive and an intransitive verb. "Rāja'a" is a past tense verb used transitively and intransitively. If you say "I returned from such-and-such," it is intransitive. If you say "I returned to so-and-so what I borrowed from him," it becomes transitive. Thus, "returning" to a state means "sending back," and it is described as lightened.