Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:55
So be patient, [O Muhammad]. Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth. And ask forgiveness for your sin and exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning.
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.
And His saying: ( فَاصْبِرْ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ ) (So be patient; indeed, the promise of Allāh is true). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to His Prophet Muḥammad — may Allāh bless him and grant him peace —: Be patient, O Muḥammad, with the command of your Lord, and carry out that with which He has sent you of the message, and convey to your people and to whomever I have commanded you to deliver it that which has been sent down to you, and be convinced of the reality of the promise of Allāh which He has made to you, namely that He will help you, and will help whoever has believed you and believed in you, against whoever has belied you and denied what you have brought from your Lord. And indeed, the promise of Allāh is true; therein is no breaking of word, and He brings it to fulfilment.
( وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَ ) (and ask forgiveness for your sin). He says: and ask Him for the forgiveness of your sins and His pardoning of them for you.
( وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ ) (and glorify the praise of your Lord). He says: and perform the prayer (ṣalāh) with thanksgiving from you to your Lord ( بِالْعَشِيِّ ) (in the evening), and that is from the passing of the sun beyond its zenith until the night ( وَالإبْكَارِ ) (and in the morning), and that is from the rising of the second dawn until the rising of the sun. And some have interpreted "al-ibkār" (the morning) as being from the rising of the sun until the ascent of the forenoon (ḍuḥā) and the passing of the time of the ḍuḥā. But what is well-known among the Arabs is the first statement.
And the linguists differed regarding the manner in which "al-ibkār" — into which the bāʾ does not enter elegantly — is coupled with "al-ʿashiyy," into which the bāʾ does enter elegantly. Some of the grammarians of Basra said: the meaning of it is: and glorify the praise of your Lord in the evening (bi-l-ʿashiyy) and in the morning (fī l-ibkār). And he said: one sometimes says "bi-l-dāri Zayd-un," while meaning "fī l-dāri Zayd-un" (Zayd is in the house). And another said: this was only said in this way because the meaning of the statement is: perform the prayer with the praising at these two times and in these two times, with the bāʾ being inserted upon one of the two.
