Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 63

«وَمَآ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَّسُوْلٍ ۔۔»: The encouragement to obey the Messenger has been given again. That is, the Messengers of Allah come into the world so that in all matters, they are obeyed according to the command of Allah. The meaning of ﴿باذن اللہ﴾ has also been interpreted as Allah’s granting of success and assistance, which is also correct. It is understood from this that every Messenger is obligatory to obey.

«وَلَوْ اَنَّھُمْ اِذْ ظَّلَمُوْٓا»: After wronging oneself, coming to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and having him seek forgiveness for you was specific to his lifetime. After his passing, it is not proven from any companion that he came to the blessed grave and requested the Prophet (peace be upon him) to make supplication. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated here an account of a Bedouin who came to the grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), recited this verse, recited some poetry, and said, “I seek forgiveness from Allah and make you an intercessor.” Upon this, a person sitting by the blessed grave said, “In a dream, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told me: ‘This Bedouin has been forgiven.’” But this is just an account that has been mentioned in connection with the verse; it is neither an explanation of the verse nor a hadith. It is written in [لصارم المنکی ص: ٢٣٨] that the chain of this account is extremely weak. And apart from the dream of a Prophet, no one’s dream is a proof in religion. The verse proves that during the blessed life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), one could have him supplicate for forgiveness, but after his passing, according to this verse, going to the grave and requesting intercession and supplication in any way is not correct.

«جَاۗءُوْكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللّٰهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَھُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ»: In order to obtain Allah’s forgiveness, repentance and seeking forgiveness before Allah is necessary and sufficient. However, what is mentioned here, that “O Prophet! If they had come to you and sought forgiveness from Allah, and you had also sought forgiveness for them,” is because they had, by turning to others for judgment, acted in a manner inappropriate to your status. Therefore, to make amends for this, they were instructed to come to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

63. 1 Allah Almighty said that although We are aware of all the secrets of their hearts (for which We will recompense them), but O Prophet! You should overlook them based on their outward appearance and continue striving for their inner reform through advice and eloquent speech! From this, it is understood that the conspiracies of enemies should be thwarted through forgiveness, advice, advice, and speech.

63. Allah knows well what is in the hearts [95] of such people. So turn away from them [96], and advise them, and speak to them words that deeply touch their souls.

[95] However, Allah Almighty informed you of the scheme of the heirs of the hypocrite, and thus Allah Almighty dismissed the case of retribution by revealing these verses, stating that those who do not wholeheartedly accept the judgment of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ in their financial or personal matters are, in fact, not believers at all. Therefore, the question of retribution does not even arise, as will be explained further ahead. Upon this decision of Sayyiduna Umar ؓ, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ granted him the title of “al-Farooq.”
[96] That is, you should pay no attention whatsoever to these hypocrites; rather, continue to admonish and advise them in a heartfelt manner, and explain to them that Allah Almighty only sends His Messenger so that his command may be obeyed and he be wholeheartedly accepted as the judge. And when they made a mistake or committed an excess, they should have come to you and sought forgiveness from Allah, and you too would have sought forgiveness for them, and Allah Almighty would have accepted their repentance.