from Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Likewise, He concluded Sūrat al-Muddaththir with His words:

“He is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness.”

He—glory be to Him—is the One worthy of being feared. He did not say ahl li-l-taqwā, but rather “ahl al-taqwā” (“the One worthy of being feared”). He alone deserves to be feared and thus worshipped to the exclusion of all others. No one else deserves to be feared, as He says:

“To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him belongs unceasing obedience. Will you then fear anyone other than Allah?”

He also says:

“Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, fears Allah and is mindful of Him—it is they who will triumph.”

He is worthy of granting forgiveness, and no one else forgives sins, as Allah Most High says:

“And who forgives sins except Allah?”

In more than one hadith, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) says:

“Indeed, no one forgives sins except You.”

Thus He—glory be to Him—is worthy of being feared and worthy of granting forgiveness. Allah has linked affirming His oneness with seeking forgiveness in more than one passage, as in His words—glory be to Him:

“So know that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and seek forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and women.”

Believers therefore seek forgiveness for having neglected to affirm Allah’s oneness and worship Him before embracing Islam, even if no messenger had yet brought them this, as explained previously. The Messenger likewise seeks forgiveness for what he had left undone, as Allah said of him:

“You did not know what the Scripture was, nor what faith was.”

This is so even though he was not liable to punishment for that. When a believer realizes that he has neglected the rights of his relatives or anyone else, he seeks Allah’s forgiveness for that and repents. The same applies when he realizes that some of what he does is blameworthy.