Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:118
If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
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: إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (118) ("If You punish them, then indeed they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, then indeed You are the Almighty, the All-Wise") (5:118).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: If You punish these who made this statement, by causing them to die upon it — "then indeed they are Your servants," who submit themselves to You, who do not withdraw from what You intend for them, and who cannot avert from themselves any harm or decree with which You afflict them — "and if You forgive them," by guiding them to repentance from it and concealing it for them — "then indeed You are the Almighty (al-ʿAzīz)," in Your requital to whomever You wish to requite, none can prevent You from it — "the All-Wise (al-Ḥakīm)," in Your guidance of whomever of Your creatures You guide to repentance, and in Your favoring of whomever of them You favor with the way to deliverance from the punishment, as in the following:
13037 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: "If You punish them, then indeed they are Your servants, and if You forgive them" — by taking them out of Christianity and guiding them to Islam — "then indeed You are the Almighty, the All-Wise." And this is the statement of ʿĪsā in the worldly life.
13038 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "If You punish them, then indeed they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, then indeed You are the Almighty, the All-Wise," he said: By Allah, they were not people who reviled nor cursed.
