To Transgress Against One’s Self

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning), do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’” (Az-Zumar, 53)

In this verse of the Qur’an, Allah Almighty describes the vastness of His mercy for the believers, His forgiveness, and His greatness. As this verse tells people to turn to Allah the Exalted, while there is still a chance, straighten their lives, and submit to His will, it also implies that, for those who deserve punishment, their regret in the Hereafter will be useless.

Through this verse, Allah the Almighty essentially says: O My Messenger whose glory is high! Say, Allah Almighty is giving you good tidings. O my servants who have crossed the line in degeneracy and disobedience and have transgressed against themselves, do not lose hope of Allah’s forgiveness and mercy. Do not say, “I have committed so many sins that Allah will never forgive me.” Verily, Allah the Almighty, Who is the Most Benevolent (Al-Karim), can forgive you and guide you to His mercy. It is wrong to lose hope of His infinite mercy. You only need to repent, ask for forgiveness and seek refuge in His name Al-Sattar (The One Who covers sins). Verily, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) can forgive all sins except shirk (polytheism).

On the other hand, this can also be inferred to mean: Seek refuge in the boundless mercy of Allah Almighty. When doing this, know that this does not mean the slate will be wiped clean for every human being or that every single sin will necessarily be forgiven. Allah the Most High will forgive the sins of those people to whom He wishes to grant His forgiveness.

When is Forgiveness?

The forgiveness of sins can happen before or after punishment. Allah (jalla jalaluhu) can forgive someone after punishing him, if He wishes, or before punishing him if He so pleases.

This divine decree does not contradict the commandment to repent and be sincere in one’s deeds, nor does it void the threat of punishment. Allah the Almighty can forgive people’s major and minor sins when they repent or, if He wishes, even without any repentance. Ibn Arafa is quoted as saying:

“When it comes to the sinner, if he does not repent, then the outcome is up to Allah Almighty. For such a person, the fear is greater than hope, and he is seen as more likely to be punished.”

The verse continues: “And return (in repentance) to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.” In addition to an emphasis on turning to Allah with repentance and sincerity, there is a threat indicating that one will never find reprieve from His punishment if they do not do so, and nobody will be able to help them. Allah Almighty forgives polytheism only if one repents from it. This is because Allah Almighty says, “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills” (An-Nisa, 48).

Waste and Hope

The word “israf” (waste) mentioned in the ayah is commonly used for material things. However, it actually refers to all transgressions whereby one crosses a line. Allah the Exalted refers to the broader definition of waste in this verse. This word is used with the adverb “ala” (against), which suggests that israf also includes transgressions. According to this explanation, one can take the verse to mean the following:

“O those who surround themselves with sins and transgress against themselves by committing major sins…”

One should not misinterpret the use of “hope” in the verse. Saying that one should not lose hope against all of one’s sins shouldn’t be perceived as a way of promoting the committing of sins or minimizing the severity of sinful acts. The divine decree stating “Do not despair of the mercy of Allah” invites and encourages even the most iniquitous, gravest sinners to repent as soon as possible.

In this verse, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) makes a call to those wasteful souls who have transgressed against themselves. He calls on them to trust His mercy. Verily, He is most merciful to His servants. That is clearly understood from the following verses.

The Reason for Revelation

The following has been narrated by Ibn Omar (radiyallahu anh) about the reason for the revelation of this verse:

We were saying that the repentance of a person who was introduced to Islam and who accepted it but later renounced Islam under torture would not be accepted. After the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came to Madinah, the verse about those people was revealed starting with “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning), do not despair of the mercy of Allah.’”

In another account, Wahshi, who had murdered Hamza (radiyallahun anh), came to our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and  asked him for sanctuary. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to him: “I would like not to see you in my vicinity, but because you came to me seeking sanctuary, you may stay in my vicinity until you hear the Words of Allah.” 

Wahshi (radiyallahu anh) said: “I associated partners with Allah, killed a person whose life Allah had made sacred, and fornicated. Will Allah accept my repentance?”

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) remained silent for a while, after which the following verses were revealed:

“And those who do not invoke any other god along with Allah, and do not kill a person whom Allah has given sanctity, except rightfully, nor do they fornicate; and whoever does it, shall face the recompense of his sin. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated.” (Furqan, 68-69)

Then the following verse was revealed: “Except for those who repent, believe and do good deeds…” (Furqan, 70). When Wahshi (radiyallahun anh) heard this verse, he felt afraid and said, “I see a stipulation in this. What if I fail to do good deeds?”

Then the following verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills” (An-Nisa, 116). After Wahshi (radiyallahun anh) heard this verse, he said, “I see a stipulation in this. What if I’m not one of those for whom Allah wills to forgive?”

After this, Allah the Most High revealed the verse, “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” Finally, after the revelation of this verse, Wahshi (radiyallahun anh) became a Muslim.

Even though these verses may have been revealed about Wahshi or others, the idea is not limited to them because the reason may be specific, but the ruling is general. Everybody who crosses the line is included in this verse.

The accounts for the reasons of the revelation of this verse in al-Wasit can be summarized as follows: According to all commentators of the Qur'an, this verse was revealed for all people who feared that their big sins like polytheism, murder, adultery, animosity, and adversity towards the Prophet that they committed previously would not be forgiven even after they accepted Islam. While the reason for the revelation is about the conversion of disbelievers to Islam, there is no doubt that the content of this verse also includes the repentance of sinful Muslims.

It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, regarding this verse, “If I was given the world and everything in it, I would not be as happy as I was about the revelation of this verse.” (Ahmed, Musnad, 5/275; Bayhaki, Shuabu’l-Iman, 7137)

Ali (karramallahu wajhahu) said, “There is no verse in the Qur'an that is broader (in meaning and good news) than this verse.”

Do not despair of Allah’s mercy

Allah Almighty has forbidden despair by commanding, “Do not lose hope of Allah’s mercy.” For this reason, it is almost imperative to hope for and expect divine benevolence. If Allah Almighty, Who is the Most Benevolent, is telling us to hope for and expect divine benevolence, it means that He will treat us accordingly.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) begins the verse with “O My servants!” It would have been appropriate for the flow of the verse to have it continue with “do not lose hope of My mercy.” However, the verse actually continues with “do not lose hope of the mercy of Allah” because Allah is the greatest and highest name of our creator. The mercy that is linked to the greatest name should be the greatest of its kind.

A person should never consider a sin too big to give up on their positive, hopeful thoughts and assumptions about Allah. Whoever considers the eminence of their Rabb, everything else becomes small for them. The mercy of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has covered everything big and small.

The mercy of Allah Almighty refers to the granting of gifts, bestowments, and blessings, which takes place after forgiveness. Forgiveness refers to Allah’s protection of His servant from punishment. For this reason, one can also interpret the verse as instructing us, first of all, not to lose hope of His maghfirah and, secondly, not to lose hope of His benevolence.

Losing one’s hope of Allah’s mercy means that one’s relationship with Allah is broken, and they have thereby strayed from the original state of their nature. This is because as long as a person has the slightest glimmer of faith in the oneness of Allah, the vast mercy of Allah, which takes precedence over His wrath, will reach that person and hold up a lifeline between themselves and Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).

Even when a person crosses the line and disobeys Allah, he can have hope of His mercy due to their faith in the oneness of Allah: a hope that radiates from the faith of tawhid. Hopelessness, on the other hand, indicates that one is completely shunned and consigned to darkness. As long as belief in the oneness of Allah remains in one’s heart, Allah can forgive all of their sins.

Hopelessness is one of the worst forms of misery one can inflict on themselves. Out of His generosity, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has given us time until our last breath. If the servant turns to Him before their last breath, He will accept their repentance.

In his tafsir titled Lataifu’l-Isharat, Qushayri writes: “O My Servant! If you have crossed the line, you have done so against yourself. Do not lose hope of His mercy. Even if you do not stop by our door anymore, at least do not turn your heart away from us.”

Because Allah Forgives All Sins

If Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) had said that “He forgives sins,” the intent of this verse would have been properly communicated. However, He added the word “jami’an”, meaning “all,” to the verse to consolidate the message. This is another aspect that emphasizes His mercy.

In this verse, there is a promise that all sins, big and small, will be forgiven even if they are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea or the stars in the heavens. One should also note that this includes an additional, specific meaning as well. Islamic scholars agree that polytheism is not included among these sins. The forgiving of the disobedient, however, depends on the will of Allah Almighty.

The verse continues to explain the reason for this forgiveness. “Verily, He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.” The attribute of Allah Almighty, the Most Forgiving (Al-Ghafur), implies that the sins that require punishment will be erased and the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahim) implies that He will give rewards out of His benevolence.

This verse can also be taken to mean that there is no one, but Allah the Almighty, who is Al-Ghafur and Ar-Rahim. This style of expression shows that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has unbounded forgiveness and mercy.

The difference between afw and maghfirah as two distinct types of forgiveness is as follows: Afw refers to the deletion of sins as alluded to in “Verily, good deeds delete sins” (Hud, 114). Maghfirah is the transformation of sins to good deeds. Allah Almighty says He “will change their sins into good deeds” (Furqan, 70).

On the other hand, one’s sins can be forgiven, but others may still know about them. The meaning of maghfirah includes not only the change of sins into good deeds but also concealing them from others. When a Muslim prays for afw and maghfirah, he asks that his sins be erased and veiled from others.

In this verse, Allah Almighty describes Himself as al-Ghafur (Most Forgiving). This name refers to the highest level of forgiveness.

Ya Ilahi! You told us not to be hopeless. You told us to expect help and gifts from You and not to lose hope. We are hopeful for this reason. Even if we have many sins and even if we may be drowning in sins, forgive us! Our hope is alive. Grant us, your troubled servants, what we hope for. Heal our ailing hearts. Amin! 

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) knows best.