An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 106 of 176

An-Nisa 4:106

وَٱسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

“And seek forgiveness of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is ever Forgiving and Merciful.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even the best of people is told to ask Allah's forgiveness, because He has always been the One who covers faults and shows mercy.

A reflection

He has always been forgiving

Wa-istaghfiri Allāh, inna Allāha kāna ghafūran raḥīmā: and seek Allah's forgiveness; truly Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.

The small word kāna carries a great deal. It does not mean that Allah was forgiving once, in the past. One classical commentator explains it as: Allah has never ceased to pardon the sins of His believing servants when they ask Him. Forgiveness is not a mood He falls into. It is who He has always been.

Now notice who receives the command. It is not a thief, or a liar, or the clan who defended him. It is the Prophet ﷺ himself, the most honoured of creation, in the very passage that corrects a near-verdict.

That should shrink every ego in the room. If he is told to ask, who among us is too senior, too pious or too busy to ask? Pride whispers that seeking forgiveness is for other people, the obvious sinners. This ayah sends the command to the top first.

A sceptic might ask why Allah wants to be asked at all. Does He need our humility, our words of need? He does not. He is the Free of need (35:15). The asking changes the one who asks.

Picture a teenager with type 1 diabetes. Her mother asks her to check her blood before every meal. The mother gains nothing from the number on the screen. The check is for the girl, who would otherwise drift into danger without feeling it.

Seeking forgiveness works in a similar way. It is the regular check that keeps a heart from drifting. It is not a tribute paid to a vain ruler. It is a door held open by a Lord who has always been forgiving, and always will be.

So begin with the hardest place: the moment you feel you have nothing to ask forgiveness for.

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.