Surah Nooh: Verse 4 - يغفر لكم من ذنوبكم ويؤخركم... - English

Tafsir of Verse 4, Surah Nooh

يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ ۖ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

English Translation

Allah will forgive you of your sins and delay you for a specified term. Indeed, the time [set by] Allah, when it comes, will not be delayed, if you only knew.\' "

English Transliteration

Yaghfir lakum min thunoobikum wayuakhkhirkum ila ajalin musamman inna ajala Allahi itha jaa la yuakhkharu law kuntum taAAlamoona

Tafsir of Verse 4

and He will forgive you your sins, and defer you to a stated term; God's term, when it comes, cannot be deferred, did you but know."'

"So He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a stated Term: for when the Term given by Allah is accomplished, it cannot be put forward: if ye only knew."

Commentary

يَغْفِرْ‌ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ and Allah will forgive you your sins, 71:4). The particle min is often used to indicate division into parts, that is, to refer to only a part of an amount, group or number. If it is taken in that sense here, it would signify that by embracing the faith only those sins would be forgiven which pertains to the Divine rights because violation of human rights would be forgiven only when the believer fulfills the human rights which he has violated [ such as pecuniary obligations ] and if they cannot be fulfilled [ such as hurting somebody physically or verbally ], then the person who has been so hurt must first be requested to forgive. The hadith which reports that by embracing the faith all sins are forgiven must be understood in the light of the foregoing explanation. In other words, the hadith has the same conditions attached to it as the verse under comment, that is, violation of the rights of the human beings is not forgiven except upon fulfillment of those rights or seeking forgiveness from the victims of that violation. Other scholars of Tafsir interpret the particle min as za'idah, (having no meaning, and added only because of usage). In this way, it signifies that all their sins would be forgiven. However, on the basis of other texts, this general expression is subject to the conditions mentioned above.

Verse 4 - Surah Nooh: (يغفر لكم من ذنوبكم ويؤخركم إلى أجل مسمى ۚ إن أجل الله إذا جاء لا يؤخر ۖ لو كنتم تعلمون...) - English