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Ayah
Word by Word
ٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
Ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
أَوۡ
or
لَا
(do) not
تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
إِن
If
تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
you ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
سَبۡعِينَ
seventy
مَرَّةٗ
times
فَلَن
never
يَغۡفِرَ
will Allah forgive
ٱللَّهُ
will Allah forgive
لَهُمۡۚ
[for] them
ذَٰلِكَ
That
بِأَنَّهُمۡ
(is) because they
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
بِٱللَّهِ
in Allah
وَرَسُولِهِۦۗ
and His Messenger
وَٱللَّهُ
and Allah
لَا
(does) not
يَهۡدِي
guide
ٱلۡقَوۡمَ
the people
ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ
the defiantly disobedient
ٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
Ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
أَوۡ
or
لَا
(do) not
تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
إِن
If
تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ
you ask forgiveness
لَهُمۡ
for them
سَبۡعِينَ
seventy
مَرَّةٗ
times
فَلَن
never
يَغۡفِرَ
will Allah forgive
ٱللَّهُ
will Allah forgive
لَهُمۡۚ
[for] them
ذَٰلِكَ
That
بِأَنَّهُمۡ
(is) because they
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
بِٱللَّهِ
in Allah
وَرَسُولِهِۦۗ
and His Messenger
وَٱللَّهُ
and Allah
لَا
(does) not
يَهۡدِي
guide
ٱلۡقَوۡمَ
the people
ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ
the defiantly disobedient
Translation
Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muḥammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allāh forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger, and Allāh does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.
Tafsir
Ask forgiveness for them, O Muhammad may peace and salutation be upon him, or do not ask forgiveness for them: this leaves the choice of asking forgiveness, or refraining, up to him; the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him said, 'I have been given the choice, and I made it', meaning [the choice] to ask forgiveness, as reported by al-Bukhaaree. If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them: it is said that the 'seventy' is intended to express [by hyperbole] a great frequency of asking forgiveness. In [the Saheeh of] al-Bukhaaree there is a hadeeth [which states]: 'If I was sure that were I to ask more than seventy times, God would forgive [them], I would have done so'. It is also said, however, that the very number [seventy] is actually meant, on account of this other hadeeth of his: 'I shall ask more than seventy times', whereupon it was made clear to him [the Prophet] that the matter regarding forgiveness had been concluded by the verse, [Q. 63:6] Alike it will be regarding them: whether you ask forgiveness for them or you do not ask forgiveness for them [God will not forgive them]; that is because they disbelieved in God and His Messenger; and God does not guide the wicked folk.
"The Prohibition of asking for Forgiveness for Hypocrites
Allah says,
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللّهُ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاللّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ
Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them -- (and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness -- Allah will not forgive them because they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger. And Allah guides not those people who are rebellious.
Allah says to His Prophet that hypocrites are not worthy of seeking forgiveness for them and that if he asks Allah to forgive them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them.
The number seventy here was mentioned to close the door on this subject, for Arabs use this number when they exaggerate, not that they actually mean seventy or more than seventy.
Ash-Sha`bi said that;
when Abdullah bin Ubayy was dying, his son went to the Prophet and said to him, ""My father has died, I wish you could attend him and pray the funeral prayer for him.""
The Prophet said,
مَا اسْمُك
""What is you name?""
He said, ""Al-Hubab bin Abdullah.""
The Prophet said,
بَلْ أَنْتَ عَبْدُاللهِ بْنُ عَبْدِاللهِ إِنَّ الْحُبَابَ اسْمَ شَيْطَان
Rather, you are Abdullah bin Abdullah, for Al-Hubab is a devil's name.
The Prophet went along with him, attended his father's funeral, gave him his shirt as a shroud and prayed the funeral prayer for him. He was asked, ""Would you pray on him, when he is a hypocrite""
He said,
إِنَّ اللهَ قَالَ
Allah said, (
إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً
(and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness...),
وَلَاسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ وَسَبْعِينَ وَسَبْعِين
Verily, I will ask Allah to forgive them seventy times and seventy more and seventy more.)""
Similar narrations were collected from Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, Mujahid, Qatadah bin Di`amah and Ibn Jarir."
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