Surah At-Tahrim (66) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا تُوْبُوْۤا اِلَى اللّٰهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوْحًا : ’’ تَوْبَةً ‘‘ ’’ تَابَ يَتُوْبُ تَوْبَةً ‘‘} (N) To return. {’’ نَصُوْحًا ‘‘ ’’نَصَحَ يَنْصَحُ نُصْحًا‘‘} (F) is an intensive form on the pattern of {’’فَعُوْلٌ‘‘}, meaning very pure. This pattern is used in the same way for masculine and feminine, singular, dual, and plural, so {’’ تَوْبَةً ‘‘} despite being masculine, is the attribute of {’’ نَصُوْحًا ‘‘} (feminine). {’’نَصَحَ الشَّيْءُ‘‘} is used when something is pure, without any impurity. When honey or anything else is pure, it is called {’’اَلنُّصْحُ‘‘}. {’’اَلنُّصْحُ‘‘} (to be pure) is the opposite of {’’اَلْغَشُّ‘‘} (to be impure). In this verse, the way to be saved from Hell is explained; it is said, O you who believe! Turn to Allah with a pure and sincere turning. That is, if you have become distant from Allah by disobeying Him, then abandon that and return to Him. The first condition of sincere repentance is that a person feels remorse for the sin solely out of fear of Allah, not due to any worldly loss. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اَلنَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ ] [ ابن ماجہ، الزھد، باب ذکر التوبۃ : ۴۲۵۲، وقال الألباني صحیح ] "Remorse is repentance." The second condition is to abandon the sin and to do so immediately. (See Nisa: 17; A'raf: 201) The third condition is to make a firm intention not to commit it again, and not to persist in the sin. (See Al Imran: 135) And the fourth condition is that if it relates to the rights of people, then as far as possible, fulfill them or seek forgiveness.
➋ { عَسٰى رَبُّكُمْ اَنْ يُّكَفِّرَ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّاٰتِكُمْ … :} In this, the glad tidings of forgiveness of sins and entry into gardens are given for sincere repentance.
➌ The word {يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللّٰهُ النَّبِيَّ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مَعَهٗ : ’’ يَوْمَ ‘‘} is the adverb of {’’ يُدْخِلَكُمْ ‘‘}, meaning forgiveness of sins and entry into Paradise will be on the day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Those who believed with him include the Companions, the Followers, the Followers of the Followers, and all Muslims who come after them until the Day of Resurrection. For details, see the commentary of the last verse of Surah Fath. Among them, the Pure Wives are included even more so, because they believed in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah granted them the honor of being the wives of His Prophet, and when they were given the choice to accept Allah, His Messenger, and the Hereafter or the world, they chose Allah, His Messenger, and the Hereafter. (See Ahzab: 28 to 34) And because of their sacrifice and patience, after them Allah forbade His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from marrying more women or replacing them with other women. See Surah Ahzab (52).
Even in this world, the Prophets and believing servants used to seek refuge from disgrace. (See Al Imran: 194; Shu'ara: 87) So Allah will save them from that disgrace.
➍ For { نُوْرُهُمْ يَسْعٰى بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ وَ بِاَيْمَانِهِمْ :}, see the commentary of Surah Hadid, verse (12).
➎ { يَقُوْلُوْنَ رَبَّنَاۤ اَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُوْرَنَا :} In the field of gathering, when a wall will be placed between the believers and the hypocrites, and the hypocrites will remain standing in darkness, the believers, fearing that their light might also be extinguished like the hypocrites, will pray to Allah to complete and preserve their light, so that with this light they may reach Paradise. See also Surah Hadid (13 to 15).

8. 1. Pure repentance is that: 1. He abandons the sin from which he is repenting, 2. He expresses remorse before Allah, 3. He resolves not to commit it again in the future, 4. If it relates to the rights of people, he compensates the one whose right was usurped, seeks forgiveness from the one he wronged; merely uttering repentance with the tongue holds no meaning.

8. 2. This supplication is made by the believers when the light of the hypocrites will be extinguished, as detailed in Surah Hadid; the believers will say, "Keep our light intact until we enter Paradise and complete it for us."

8. O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere [16] repentance. It may be that your Lord will remove your misdeeds from you and admit you into Gardens beneath which rivers flow. On the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him [17], their light will run before them and on their right [18], (and) they will say: "Our Lord! Perfect our light for us [19] and forgive us. Surely, You have power over all things."

[16]
Conditions of Repentance:

﴿نَصُوْحًا﴾ ﴿نصح﴾ means to wish well for someone, whether by word or by deed, and ﴿نَصُوْحًا﴾ refers to such sincere repentance in which the well-being of one's own soul is intended. And there are several conditions for such repentance. First, that one feels remorse for what one has done. Second, that one seeks forgiveness from Allah and makes a firm resolve not to commit that act again in the future. Third, that this resolve should not be merely verbal or based on ostentation, but that one should try to fulfill this resolve to the best of one's ability in the future. Fourth, if in committing this sin, someone else's right has been violated, then that right should be fulfilled or forgiveness should be sought from that person. If that right pertains to wealth and the original wronged person has died, then it should be given to his heirs or given in charity. And if the violation of rights pertains to speech, such as backbiting or slander, then one should continue to pray for forgiveness for that person. ﴿وغير ذلك﴾
[17] Not being disgraced means being saved from the punishment of Hell, because on that day, this will be the greatest disgrace. Instead, Allah will honor such people with high ranks of grace and nobility.
[18] The details of this light have already been mentioned under verse 13 of Surah Hadid.
[19]
On the Day of Judgment, the Plea of the Hypocrites to the Believers: Take Us Along With You:

This light will be granted to the people of faith when, in the plain of resurrection, the deeds of the people will have been decided and they will have received the ticket or permit to enter Paradise. On the way from the plain of resurrection to Paradise, there will be intense darkness, and then the bridge of Sirat will also have to be crossed. The believers will continue to advance in the light of this granted light. The hypocrites will also try to walk along with them, but they will not have their own light, or if they have a little, it will soon be extinguished. Seeing them, the believers will fear that perhaps their own light might also be extinguished on the way. Therefore, they will pray to Allah: O Lord! Keep our light intact and maintained until we reach Paradise. And forgive us for whatever sins or shortcomings we have committed.