(155) “Indeed, those of you who turned back on the day the two armies met were made to slip by Satan because of some of what they had earned. Yet Allah has pardoned them. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.”

The Exalted informs us of the state of those who fled on the Day of Uhud, what caused them to flee, and that it resulted from Satan’s enticement. Satan gained power over them because of some of their sins. They themselves gave him access and enabled him through the acts of disobedience they committed, for sins are his mount and point of entry. Had they held fast to obedience to their Lord, he would have had no authority over them.

The Exalted says: “Indeed, you shall have no authority over My servants.” He then informs us that He pardoned them after they had done what warranted being taken to task; otherwise, had He taken them to task, He would have eradicated them.

“Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving” toward sinful wrongdoers through the repentance and seeking of forgiveness He enables them to undertake, as well as through expiatory afflictions. He is “Most Forbearing”: He does not hasten to punish those who disobey Him. Rather, He grants them respite and calls them to return to Him and turn wholeheartedly toward Him.

Then, if a person repents and returns to Him, Allah accepts his repentance and makes him as though no sin had ever occurred and no fault had ever issued from him. All praise is therefore due to Allah for His benevolence.