As for the second question: Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, used to recite, “If You forgive them, then surely You are the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful,” and this is likewise found in his codex. As for the standard reading, it was said that it involves inversion in word order, its intended sense being: “If You forgive them, then they are Your servants; but if You punish them, then You alone are the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

It was also said that its meaning is: If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, then You are Almighty in dominion and Wise in decree. Nothing diminishes Your might, and nothing escapes Your judgment. It is within His wisdom, forgiveness, and the vastness of His mercy and forgiveness to forgive even the disbelievers; yet He has declared that He will not forgive them, and He does not fail to fulfill what He has declared.

Isma'il ibn Abd al-Qahir informed us: Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us; Muhammad ibn Isa al-Juludi narrated to us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan narrated to us; Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj narrated to me; Yunus ibn Abd al-A'la narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; Umar ibn al-Harith informed me that Bakr ibn Sawadah narrated to him, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr, from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited the words of Allah Most High concerning Abraham:

“My Lord, they have led many people astray. So whoever follows me is truly of me,” to the end of the verse;

and the words of Jesus, peace be upon him:

“If You punish them, they are Your servants; but if You forgive them, then You alone are the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

He then raised his hands and said, “O Allah, my community!” and wept. Allah, exalted is He, then said: “O Gabriel, go to Muhammad—and your Lord knows best—and ask him what makes him weep.” So Gabriel came to him and asked him, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, informed him of what he had said. Allah Most High then said: “O Gabriel, go to Muhammad and say: ‘We shall surely please you concerning your community and shall not grieve you.’” (1)

“If You punish them, they are Your servants; but if You forgive them, then You alone are the Almighty, the All-Wise. (118) Allah will say, ‘This is a Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness. They will have gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding there forever. Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. That is the supreme triumph.’ (119)”

“This is a Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness.” ⦗115/b⦘ Nafi recited “day” in the accusative, meaning: these matters will take place on a day; the preposition “on” is omitted, which accounts for the accusative. The others recited it in the nominative, as the predicate of “this”; that is, the truthfulness of the truthful in this world will benefit them in the Hereafter. Had they lied, Allah would have sealed their mouths, their limbs would have spoken of it, and they would have been disgraced. It was also said that “the truthful” refers to the prophets.