Al-Ma'idah · Madani · ayah 118 of 120

Al-Ma'idah 5:118

إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ ۖ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

“If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Isa neither curses his wayward followers nor pleads for them; he calls them Your servants and ends on Mighty and Wise.

A reflection

Forgiveness from strength

There are two ways a person lets a wrong go. One forgives because he cannot do anything else: he is too weak to demand his right, or does not know how much was taken. The other forgives with the full bill in his hand and the power to collect it. Only the second is really forgiveness.

Isa's last words to his Lord on that Day end with two names. If You forgive them, You are al-ʿAzīz al-Ḥakīm: the Mighty, the Wise.

The first name pictures an eagle's nest on the highest crag. It is out of every hand's reach, never overpowered. The second goes back to the ḥakama, the part of a bridle that checks a galloping horse. Wisdom begins as a restraint that saves.

One scholar draws out why these names, and not others, close the ayah. Allah's forbearance comes after His knowledge, he writes. His pardon comes after His power. His forgiveness comes from the fullness of His might and wisdom. You are not like one who forgives out of weakness, or overlooks out of ignorance of what is owed. You know Your right, You are able to take it, and You are wise in whether You take it.

This humbles the ego from both sides. We often refuse to forgive in order to look strong. We often forgive only when we have no choice, and call it virtue. Allah's forgiveness is neither. It is strength choosing mercy, and wisdom placing it.

Does Allah need to be praised as Mighty and Wise? He needs nothing. The names are for those who hear them. They tell every sinner that his fate rests with One who cannot be overpowered and never acts without reason.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.