Draft:Qur'an 4:18
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| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | al-Nisa' (Qur'an 4) |
| Verse | 18 |
| Juz' | 4 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Ethical |
| About | Tawba |
| Related Verses | Verse of Repentance • Qur'an 47:34 |
Qur'an 4:18 is about the non-acceptance of the repentance of the disbelievers and those who have delayed repentance until the moment of death.[1] In terms of content, this verse is a continuation of the previous two verses, which refer to the acceptance of the repentance of ignorant sinners who repent quickly.[2]
| “ | وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
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| “ | But repentance is not [accepted] from those who go on committing misdeeds until, when death visits one of them, he says, ‘I repent now,’ nor from those who die while they are faithless. For such We have prepared a painful punishment.
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| — Qur'an 4:18 | ||
Under this verse, exegetes refer to two groups of people whose repentance God will not accept: first, those who continuously perform indecent acts and seek repentance at the time of death,[3] and second, those who leave this world in a state of disbelief.[4]
According to exegetes of the Holy Qur'an, in the state of the throes of death, the veils will be removed from before human eyes, and part of the truths related to the other world and the result of actions will be revealed, following which one regrets their deeds and intends to repent.[5] al-Tabrisi, the author of the exegesis Majma' al-bayan, has explained that the dying person, in the state of passing away, wants to embark on abandoning evils and performing good deeds, but in this state, legal obligation has been removed from them, and thus repenting will not be conceivable for them.[6] Husayni Shah 'Abd al-'Azimi (1384 AH), the author of Tafsir ithna 'ashari, says in the exegesis of the verse that involuntary repentance out of desperation is useless; just as the repentance of Pharaoh was not accepted.[7] The story of Pharaoh's repentance is mentioned in verses 90 and 91 of Sura Yunus. According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, one who has died in a state of disbelief expresses faith after observing matters related to the Hereafter, but God does not accept their repentance, which is that very act of professing faith.[8]
According to what is stated in Tafsir-i nimuna, Qur'an 4:18 has no contradiction with narrations that consider the acceptance of repentance possible for humans until the last breath;[9] because those narrations refer to moments when definite signs of death have not yet been observed.[10] In contrast, some exegetes such as Mughniyya do not accept such hadiths and consider them contrary to the content of the verses of the Holy Qur'an.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 4, p. 243.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 4, p. 243.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 315.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 316.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 315.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majma' al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 3, p. 37.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Shāh 'Abd al-'Aẓīmī, Tafsīr-i ithnā 'asharī, 1363 Sh, vol. 2, p. 380.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, al-Mīzān, 1417 AH, vol. 4, p. 243.
- ↑ Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, 1413 AH, vol. 1, p. 133.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 3, p. 316.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-Kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 2, pp. 273-274.
References
- Ḥusaynī Shāh 'Abd al-'Aẓīmī, Sayyid Ḥusayn, Tafsīr-i ithnā 'asharī, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Mīqāt, first edition, 1363 Sh.
- Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. 'Alī, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, research and correction by 'Alī Akbar Ghaffārī, Qom, Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, second edition, 1413 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, Qom, Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, fifth edition, 1417 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan, Majma' al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusraw, third edition, 1372 Sh.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād, Tafsīr al-Kāshif, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, first edition, 1424 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i nimūna, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, first edition, 1374 Sh.