Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 115

Recompense comes after Proof is established

Allah describes His Honorable Self and just judgment in that He does not lead a people astray but after the Message comes to them, so that the proof is established against them. For instance, Allah said,

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـهُمْ

(And as for Thamud, We showed and made clear to them the path of truth ...) 41:17. Mujahid commented on Allah's saying;

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْماً بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَاهُمْ

(And Allah will never lead a people astray after He has guided them) "Allah the Mighty and Sublime is clarifying to the believers about not seeking forgiveness for the idolators in particular, and in general, it is an exhortation to beware of disobeying Him, and encouragement to obey Him. So either do or suffer." Ibn Jarir commented, "Allah says that He would not direct you to misguidance, so that you invoke Him for forgiveness for your dead idolators, after He gave you guidance and directed you to believe in Him and in His Messenger ! First, He will inform you of what you should avoid, so that you avoid it. Before He informs you that this action is not allowed, you would not have disobeyed Him and fallen into what He prohibited for you if you indulge in this action. Therefore, in this case, He will not allow you to be misguided. Verily, guidance or misguidance occurs after commands and prohibitions are established. As for those who were neither commanded nor prohibited, they can neither be obedient nor disobedient in doing what they were neither ordered nor prohibited from doing." Allah said,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يُحْىِ وَيُمِيتُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ

(Indeed to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, He gives life and He causes death. And besides Allah you have neither any protector nor any helper.) Ibn Jarir commented, "This is an encouragement from Allah for His believing servants to fight the idolators and chiefs of disbelief. It is also a command for them to trust in Allah's aid, for He is the Owner of the heavens and earth, and not to fear His enemies. Verily, they have no protector besides Allah, nor a supporter other than Him."

This put some Muslims into doubt. Was it not, they thought, that Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ too had prayed for his disbelieving father? To answer it, the second verse (114) was revealed: مَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ‌ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ. In gist, it means: As for the prayer made by Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ for his father, it was conditioned by circumstances. In the beginning, Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ did not know that he would keep on sticking to his disbelief right through the end and would die a disbeliever. In other words, his going to Hell was not certain. That was the time when he had made the promise that he would pray for his forgiveness: سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ‌ لَكَ رَ‌بِّي (I shall ask my Lord to forgive you - Maryam 19:47). Later, when it be-came clear to Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ that he was an enemy of Allah, that is, he had remained a disbeliever right through the end, he elected to become indifferent to him and stopped asking pardon for him.

With regard to the mention of Sayyidna Ibrahim ؓ praying for the forgiveness of his father at different places in the Qur'an, it should all be taken in that sense, whereby it would mean that Allah may give him the taufiq of 'Iman and Islam so that he could be forgiven.

When the disbelievers inflicted a wound on the blessed face of the Holy Prophet ﷺ during the battle of Uhud, he was seen wiping blood from his face and praying: اللَّھُمَّ اغفِرلِقَومِی اِنَّھُم لَا یَعلَمُونَ ( O Allah, forgive my people. They do not know). The object of this prayer of forgiveness for the disbelievers is no other but that Allah may bless them with the taufiq of 'Iman and Islam so that they could become deserving of being forgiven.

Imam al-Qurtubi said, ` this proves that it is permissible to pray for the forgiveness of a living kafir with the intention that this disbelieving person may have the taufiq of 'Iman and become deserving of forgiveness.'

In the last sentence of the verse (114), it was said: إِنَّ ِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ حَلِيمٌ (Surely, Ibrahim is oft sighing [ before Allah ], forbearing). The word: اوَّاه awwah) is used for a host of meanings. Al-Qurtubi has reported fifteen meanings of this word but they are all close to each other without any real difference between them. Some of these are: one who sighs a lot, or one who supplicates profusely, or one who is full of mercy for the servants of Allah. This (last) meaning is reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ .

Abraham, being a very compassionate person, was greatly concerned about the salvation of humanity. Swayed by these sentiments, he had made a pledge to pray to God for his pagan father. But, when he was made aware of God’s will, he desisted. God has instilled in every human being a natural instinct for discerning evil. When an individual receives a message which is intended to stop him from committing an evil deed, his whole inner being testifies to its truth. A silent check is produced in his heart. For ‘God would never lead a people astray after He has guided them.’ But if the man ignores this impulse arising from within, and does not save himself, in spite of the hint given him by nature, his natural sensitivity gradually goes on weakening, till a time comes when it dies altogether. This danger threatens Muslims as well as non-Muslims.