The Believers — Verse 118
23:118 · al-Mu`minun
Verse display
وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ وَٱرۡحَمۡ وَأَنتَ خَیۡرُ ٱلرَّ ٰحِمِینَ ١١٨
waqul rabbi igh'fir wa-ir'ḥam wa-anta khayru l-rāḥimīn
The Believers / al-Mu`minun (23:118)
Connections 2 single-source 1 commentator
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mentions (2) cited by only one commentator
-
Q 23:1 (al-Mu`minun)
cited by
-
Q 23:117 (al-Mu`minun)
cited by
By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
-
Ma'arif-ul-Quran 2 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
Say [Prophet], ‘Lord, forgive and have mercy: You are the most merciful of all.’
waqul rabbi igh'fir wa-ir'ḥam wa-anta khayru l-rāḥimīn
Get a Print Copy
Support the Author
As an Amazon Associate, ParallelQuran earns from qualifying purchases.
Qur'an Tools
Tafsir Commentary
Shirk is the Worst form of Wrong, its Practitioner shall never succeed. Allah threatens those who associate anything else withHim and worship anything with Him. He informs that those whoassociate others with Allah:
لاَ بُرْهَانَ لَهُ
(of whom he has no proof), meaning no evidence for what he says. Then Allah says:
وَمَن يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَـهَا ءَاخَرَ لاَ بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ
(And whoever invokes, besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof;) this is a conditional sentence, whose fulfilling clause is:
فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ
(then his reckoning is only with his Lord.) meaning, Allah will call him to account for that. Then Allah tells us:
إِنَّهُ لاَ يُفْلِحُ الْكَـفِرُونَ
(Surely, disbelievers will not be successful.) meaning, they will not be successful with Him on the Day of Resurrection; they will not prosper or be saved.
وَقُل رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأنتَ خَيْرُ الرَحِمِينَ
(And say: "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for You are the best of those who show mercy!") Here Allah is teaching us to recite this supplication, for forgiveness, in a general sense, means wiping away sins and concealing them from people, and mercy means guiding a person and helping him to say and do good things.
And say ‘My Lord forgive and have mercy on believers — this ‘mercy’ adds to the ‘forgiveness’ in terms of God’s grace — and You are the best of the merciful’ the most excellent of those who have mercy.
وقل- أيها النبي-: ربِّ تجاوَزْ عن الذنوب وارحم؛ وأنت خير من رحم ذا ذنب، فقبل توبته ولم يعاقبه على ذنبه.
وقوله تعالى " وقل رب اغفر وارحم وأنت خير الراحمين " هذا إرشاد من الله تعالى إلى هذا الدعاء فالغفر إذا أطلق معناه محو الذنب وستره عن الناس والرحمة معناها أن يسدده ويوفقه في الأقوال والأفعال. آخر تفسير سورة المؤمنون.
ثم ختم - سبحانه - السورة الكريمة بقوله : ( وَقُل رَّبِّ اغفر وارحم وَأنتَ خَيْرُ الراحمين ) أى : وقل - أيها الرسول الكريم - مناجيا ربك : رب اغفر للمؤمنين ذنوبهم ، وارحم العصاة منهم ، وأنت يا مولانا خير من يرحم ، وخير من يغفر .قال الآلوسى : " وفى تخصيص هذه الدعاء بالذكر ما يدل على أهمية ما فيه ، وقد علم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أبا بكر أن يقول نحوه فى صلاته . فقد أخرج الشيخان عن أبى بكر - رضى الله عنه - قال : يا رسول الله ، علمنى دعاء أدعو به فى صلاتى . فقال له قل : " اللهم إنى ظلمت نفسى ظلما كثيرا ، وإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت ، فاغفر لى مغفرة من عندك ، وارحمنى إنك أنت الغفور الرحيم " .
يقول تعالى ذكره لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: وقل يا محمد: ربّ استر عليّ ذنوبي بعفوك عنها، وارحمني بقبول توبتك، وتركك عقابي على ما اجترمت ( وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ ) يقول: وقل : أنت يا ربّ خير من رحم ذا ذنب، فقبل توبته، ولم يعاقبه على ذنبه.
" وقل رب اغفر وارحم وأنت خير الراحمين ".
وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ (118)عطف على جملة : { ومن يدع مع الله إلهاً آخر } [ المؤمنون : 117 ] إلخ باعتبار قوله : { فإنما حسابه عند ربه } . فإن المقصود من الجملة خطاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بأن يدعو ربه بالمغفرة والرحمة . وفي حذف متعلق { اغفر وارحم } تفويض الأمر إلى الله في تعيين المغفور لهم والمرحومين ، والمراد من كانوا من المؤمنين ويجوز أن يكون المعنى اغفر لي وارحمني ، بقرينة المقام .وأمره بأن يدعو بذلك يتضمن وعداً بالإجابة .وهذا الكلام مؤذن بانتهاء السورة فهو من براعة المقطع .
{ وَقُلْ } داعيا لربك مخلصا له الدين { رَبِّ اغْفِرْ } لنا حتى تنجينا من المكروه، وارحمنا، لتوصلنا برحمتك إلى كل خير { وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ } فكل راحم للعبد، فالله خير له منه، أرحم بعبده من الوالدة بولدها، وأرحم به من نفسه. تم تفسير سورة المؤمنين، من فضل الله وإحسانه.
ثم أمر نبيه - عليه الصلاة والسلام - بالاستغفار لتقتدي به الأمة . وقيل : أمره بالاستغفار لأمته . وأسند الثعلبي من حديث ابن لهيعة ، عن عبد الله بن هبيرة ، عن حنش بن عبد الله الصنعاني ، عن عبد الله بن مسعود أنه مر بمصاب مبتلى فقرأ في أذنه أفحسبتم أنما خلقناكم عبثا حتى ختم السورة فبرأ . فقال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : ماذا قرأت في أذنه ؟ فأخبره ، فقال : والذي نفسي بيده لو أن رجلا موقنا قرأها على جبل لزال .
There are two types of human beings: one leads a principled life, while another leads an unprincipled one. While one sacrifices himself for the sake of an unseen Truth, the other remains preoccupied with visible things. While one accepts the call for Truth—in spite of all its unfamiliarity—the other ignores it or even ridicules it. While one abstains from indulging in cruelty—solely because God has prohibited it, another becomes a tyrant at the very first opportunity, because his self-interest bids him do so. The meaningfulness of the universe contradicts the theory that there is no purpose behind the creation of this world. The perfect system of the universe shows its Creator to be a highly intelligent Being. The vast and perfect system of the universe introduces us to a Creator Who is perfect to the ultimate degree. It is inconceivable that such a Creator would countenance or tolerate the aforesaid two types of individuals meeting the same end. This is totally impossible. The Lord of this universe will certainly scorn those who scoffed at the Truth and will show His appreciation for those who valued it.
رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ (My Lord, forgive and have mercy - 23:118). Here the object of the forgiveness and having mercy has not been mentioned. What is there to be forgiven and to whom is mercy to be shown? And this seems to suggest a general prayer for forgiveness which would include deliverance from harm and suffering, and a general prayer for mercy which would include the grant of every wish. Since protection from bodily harm and acquisition of legitimate gains is the object of all human activity, this prayer covers both these aspects. (Mazhari) And the reason why the Holy Prophet ﷺ was commanded to recite this prayer of forgiveness and mercy, even tough he is impeccable, is to impress upon his followers the special merit of this prayer. (Qurtubi)
Surah Al-Mu'minun began with the verse قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (Success is really attained by the believers - 23:1) and ends withإِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ (Surely, the infidels will not achieve success - 23:117) which shows that success will come to believers only and that the unbelievers will have no share of it.
(And say) O Muhammad: (My Lord! Forgive) my nation (and have mercy) on my nation by not punishing them, (for Thou art Best of all who show mercy) the most Merciful of all who show mercy'.