Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 73 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:73

لِّيُعَذِّبَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتِ وَٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَٱلْمُشْرِكَـٰتِ وَيَتُوبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًۢا

“[It[1216] was] so that Allāh may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the men and women who associate others with Him and that Allāh may accept repentance from the believing men and believing women. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The Trust sorts people by what they did with it, and the surah's last words are His: Forgiving, Merciful.

A reflection

Two weaknesses, two names

The previous ayah described the human being with two words: ẓalūm, much given to injustice, and jahūl, much given to ignorance. This ayah, the last of the surah, closes with two words about Allah: ghafūr, Forgiving, and raḥīm, Merciful.

One commentator saw the pairing and drew it out. He is Forgiving towards the unjust, and Merciful towards the ignorant. Injustice needs covering; ignorance needs compassion. That is why, he notes, a wrongdoer's first excuse is so often: I did not know.

Then he adds a subtle point. Allah made Himself known to His servant as Forgiving and Merciful. He showed the servant himself, unjust and ignorant. Then He offered the Trust. The servant accepted it, weak as he was, because he knew what would mend it.

The root of ghafūr is covering. The mighfar was the mail hood worn under a helmet, falling over the neck to guard it. So forgiveness here does two things. It hides the fault, and it shields the one who made it from what the fault deserved.

Notice what this does to the ego. Seventy-three ayat have passed: armies, laws, rebukes, the heavens and the mountains. The last word is not about our courage or our record. It is about Him. We like stories that end with ourselves, our achievement, our lesson learned. This surah ends with His names.

Does He need us to know them? No. He is the Rich, and we are the ones in need (35:15). He names Himself as Forgiving because we are the ones who need forgiving. His self-description here is the most practical thing in the ayah. It tells the unjust and ignorant creature exactly where to go.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.