Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:109
Here you are - those who argue on their behalf in [this] worldly life - but who will argue with Allah for them on the Day of Resurrection, or who will [then] be their representative?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا (And whoever does evil or wrongs himself and then asks Allah for forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful) (110).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His praise, means by this: and whoever commits a sin — and that is "the evil" — or wrongs himself by appropriating to himself something whereby he deserves the punishment of Allah, and thereafter asks Allah for forgiveness. He says: and then turns to Allah in repentance, returning from the evil that he has committed and the wrong that he has done to himself, and returning to the good deeds that Allah loves, which efface his sin and remove his offense. will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful. He says: he will find his Lord to be One who conceals his sin for him, remits for him the punishment of his offense, and is merciful toward him.
* * *
The scholars of interpretation (taʾwīl) differed concerning who is meant by this verse.
Some of them said: by this are meant those whom Allah described with treachery in His word: وَلَا تُجَادِلْ عَنِ الَّذِينَ يَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَهُمْ (And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves).
* * *
Others said: no, by this are meant those who pleaded on behalf of the traitors, to whom Allah said: هَا أَنتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ جَادَلْتُمْ عَنْهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (Here you are — these who have argued on their behalf in the worldly life). And we have already mentioned previously the proponents of both positions.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct position concerning this, according to us, is: that by this is meant everyone who does evil or wrongs himself, even though it was revealed concerning the affair of the traitors and those who pleaded on their behalf, whose case Allah mentioned in the verses preceding it.
* * *
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, a group of the scholars of interpretation spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
10422 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, who said: ʿAbd Allāh [ibn Masʿūd] said: The Children of Israel were such that when one of them committed a sin, he would find in the morning the expiation for that sin written upon his door. And when urine fell upon anything of his, he would cut it off with scissors. A man then said: Truly, Allah has granted the Children of Israel something good! ʿAbd Allāh said: What Allah has granted you is better than what He granted them: Allah has made water a means of purification for you, and He said: وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ (And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins) [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 135], and He said: وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا (And whoever does evil or wrongs himself and then asks Allah for forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful).
10423 — Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Hushaym related to us, he said: Ibn ʿAwn related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, who said: A woman came to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal and asked him about a woman who had committed fornication (zinā) and had become pregnant, and who, when she had given birth, had killed her child. Ibn Mughaffal said: What is the matter with her? For her is the Fire! She turned away weeping and left, whereupon he called her back and said: I see your case as nothing but one of two possibilities: Whoever does evil or wrongs himself and then asks Allah for forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful. He said: She then wiped her eyes and went away.
10424 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: And whoever does evil or wrongs himself and then asks Allah for forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful. He said: Allah has informed His servants of His clemency, His forgiveness, His generosity, and the vastness of His mercy and forgiveness. So whoever commits a sin — small or great — and thereafter asks Allah for forgiveness will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful, even if his sins were greater than the heavens, the earth, and the mountains.
