ٱلْأَنْفَال : ٣٣

  • وَمَا But not
  • كَانَ is
  • ٱللَّهُ (for) Allah
  • لِيُعَذِّبَهُمۡ that He punishes them
  • وَأَنتَ while you
  • فِيهِمۡۚ (are) among them
  • وَمَا and not
  • كَانَ is
  • ٱللَّهُ Allah
  • مُعَذِّبَهُمۡ the One Who punishes them
  • وَهُمۡ while they
  • يَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَ seek forgiveness
But Allāh would not punish them while you, [O Muḥammad], are among them, and Allāh would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
God then says: But God was not about to chastise them, for what they requested, while you were among them, for when chastisement is sent down it is all-encompassing, and no community was ever chastised except after its prophet and the believers had departed from it; nor was God about to chastise them while they sought forgiveness, crying, as they performed the circumambulations: 'Your forgiveness! Your forgiveness!'; it is also said that this [last clause] refers to those oppressed believers among them, similar to where God says Had they been clearly separated, verily We would have chastised the disbelievers among them with a painful chastisement [Q. 48:25].