(53–59) “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He alone is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Turn to your Lord in repentance and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you, for then you will not be helped. Follow the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, while you are unaware, lest a soul should say, “Alas for me, for having neglected my duty toward Allah, and for having been among those who mocked!”’”
Allah, Exalted is He, informs His servants who have transgressed of the vastness of His generosity and urges them to turn to Him in repentance before they are no longer able to do so. He says: “Say”—O Messenger, and likewise anyone who takes his place among those who call to Allah’s religion, proclaiming to the servants on behalf of their Lord—“O My servants who have transgressed against themselves” by following the sins to which their souls call them and pursuing that which incurs the displeasure of the All-Knowing of the unseen.
“Do not despair of Allah’s mercy”—that is, do not lose hope in it, thereby casting yourselves into destruction and saying, “Our sins have become too numerous and our faults have accumulated. There is no way to erase them and no means to avert their consequences.” You would then remain persistent in disobedience, accumulating that which causes the Most Merciful to be angry with you. Rather, know your Lord through His names, which attest to His generosity and munificence, and know that He forgives all sins: associating partners with Him, murder, fornication, usury, wrongdoing, and every other major and minor sin.
“Indeed, He alone is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” That is, forgiveness and mercy are two intrinsic and inseparable attributes of His, from which His Essence is never devoid. Their effects have never ceased to permeate existence and fill all that exists. His two hands pour forth good things throughout the night and day, and He continually bestows blessings and favors upon His servants, both privately and publicly. Giving is more beloved to Him than withholding, and mercy has preceded wrath and prevailed over it.
However, attaining His forgiveness and mercy has means. If the servant fails to avail himself of them, he has closed the door of mercy and forgiveness upon himself. The greatest and noblest of these—indeed, the only means to them—is to turn to Allah, Exalted is He, with sincere repentance, supplication, humble entreaty, devotion, and worship. So hasten to this most sublime means and greatest path.
For this reason, Allah commands them to turn to Him and to hasten to do so, saying: “Turn to your Lord in repentance” with your hearts, “and submit to Him” with your limbs. When turning to Allah in repentance is mentioned on its own, the deeds of the limbs are included within it; but when it is coupled with submission, as it is here, the meaning is as we have explained.
His words, “to your Lord and submit to Him,” indicate the necessity of sincerity: without sincerity, neither outward nor inward deeds are of any benefit. “Before the punishment comes upon you” in a manner that cannot be repelled, “for then you will not be helped.” It is as though the question were asked: What are turning in repentance and submission, and what are their particular components and deeds?
Allah answers: “Follow the best of what has been sent down to you from your Lord”: the inward deeds He has commanded you to perform, such as loving Allah, standing in awe of Him, fearing Him, placing hope in Him, showing sincere concern for His servants, wishing good for them, and abandoning all that is contrary to these things.
And among the outward deeds are prayer, ⦗728⦘ the prescribed alms, fasting, pilgrimage, charity, the various forms of benevolence, and other acts commanded by Allah. These are the best of what our Lord has sent down to us. Whoever follows his Lord’s commands in these and similar matters is one who turns to Him in repentance and submits to Him. “Before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, while you are unaware.” All of this urges them to act promptly and seize the opportunity.
He then warned them against persisting in their heedlessness until the Day comes when they will feel remorse, though remorse will be of no benefit. “Lest a soul should say, ‘Alas for me, for having neglected my duty toward Allah’”—that is, the duty owed to Him—“and for having been among those who mocked” in this world at the coming of recompense, until it saw it with its own eyes.