Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:153
But those who committed misdeeds and then repented after them and believed - indeed your Lord, thereafter, is Forgiving and Merciful.
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: وَالَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ ثُمَّ تَابُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهَا وَآمَنُوا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (7:153) (And those who committed evil deeds, then repented thereafter and believed — truly, your Lord is thereafter indeed Forgiving, Merciful.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from Allah, the Exalted whose praise is mentioned, that He accepts the repentance of every penitent who turns back to Him from a sin he has committed — whether his disobedience was small or great, whether it was unbelief (kufr) or something other than unbelief — just as He accepted the repentance of the worshippers of the calf after their unbelief in Him through their worship of the calf and their apostasy (irtidād) from their religion. The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: and those who committed the evil deeds, and thereafter returned to seeking Allah's good pleasure through their turning toward that which He loves, away from what He detests, and toward that with which He is pleased, away from what angers Him, after their evil deeds — and they believed that Allah accepts the repentance of sinners and turns graciously toward those who repent, with sincerity of their hearts and certainty on their part concerning that — = "is indeed Forgiving" toward them, He says: covering over them their evil deeds and not disgracing them thereby = "Merciful" toward them, and toward everyone who, like them, belongs to the penitent.
