سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 18
وَلَيْسَتِ ٱلتَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّى تُبْتُ ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ وَلَا ٱلَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا ﴿18﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: "Now I repent;" nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَيْسَتِ
walaysati
And not
ٱلتَّوْبَةُ
l-tawbatu
(is) the acceptance of repentance
لِلَّذِينَ
lilladhīna
for those who
يَعْمَلُونَ
yaʿmalūna
do
ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ
l-sayiāti
the evil deeds
حَتَّىٰٓ
ḥattā
until
إِذَا
idhā
when
حَضَرَ
ḥaḍara
approaches
أَحَدَهُمُ
aḥadahumu
one of them
ٱلْمَوْتُ
l-mawtu
[the] death
قَالَ
qāla
he says
إِنِّى
innī
Indeed I
تُبْتُ
tub'tu
repent
ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ
l-āna
now
وَلَا
walā
and not
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
يَمُوتُونَ
yamūtūna
die
وَهُمْ
wahum
while they
كُفَّارٌ ۚ
kuffārun
(are) disbelievers
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ
ulāika
Those
أَعْتَدْنَا
aʿtadnā
We have prepared
لَهُمْ
lahum
for them
عَذَابًا
ʿadhāban
a punishment
أَلِيمًۭا
alīman
painful
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
But repentance is not for those who continue to do evil deeds until, when death approaches one of them, he says, "Now I repent," nor for those who die while they are disbelievers [31]. For such people, We have prepared a painful punishment.
[31] When the state of death agony overtakes a person, he sees the signs of death and begins to see the angels who seize the soul, then the time for repentance has ended. Because now he has exited the abode of trial and stands at the border of the Hereafter, and repentance is an action whose time has passed. In this verse, two types of people are mentioned. One is those who were Muslims but spent their entire lives committing sins, and the other is those who were disbelievers and died in that state of disbelief. Both types of people will have a painful punishment. In these two verses, the repentance of four types of people is mentioned. The first is the one who committed a sin unknowingly, but when he found out, he immediately repented. Regarding such people, it is said
﴿اِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَي اللّٰهِ﴾
and from the word "ala" it is understood that accepting the repentance of such people is obligatory upon Allah, or He certainly accepts their repentance, and this too is Allah's kindness that He has made accepting the repentance of such people obligatory upon Himself, otherwise He is absolutely free to do as He wills. The second type arises from the absence of this condition, meaning those people who commit sins unknowingly but, upon realizing, do not hasten to repent but rather delay it. Allah has made no promise to accept the repentance of such people. If He wills, He may accept it, and if He wills, He may not. The third type is the Muslim who never thought of repentance throughout his life, and even if he did, it was at the time of death. Regarding such a person, it has been clearly stated that his repentance will not be accepted. And the fourth type is the one who died in a state of disbelief without repenting; his repentance at the time of death also cannot be accepted, and the reason for this has already been mentioned above.
[31] When the state of death agony overtakes a person, he sees the signs of death and begins to see the angels who seize the soul, then the time for repentance has ended. Because now he has exited the abode of trial and stands at the border of the Hereafter, and repentance is an action whose time has passed. In this verse, two types of people are mentioned. One is those who were Muslims but spent their entire lives committing sins, and the other is those who were disbelievers and died in that state of disbelief. Both types of people will have a painful punishment. In these two verses, the repentance of four types of people is mentioned. The first is the one who committed a sin unknowingly, but when he found out, he immediately repented. Regarding such people, it is said
﴿اِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَي اللّٰهِ﴾
and from the word "ala" it is understood that accepting the repentance of such people is obligatory upon Allah, or He certainly accepts their repentance, and this too is Allah's kindness that He has made accepting the repentance of such people obligatory upon Himself, otherwise He is absolutely free to do as He wills. The second type arises from the absence of this condition, meaning those people who commit sins unknowingly but, upon realizing, do not hasten to repent but rather delay it. Allah has made no promise to accept the repentance of such people. If He wills, He may accept it, and if He wills, He may not. The third type is the Muslim who never thought of repentance throughout his life, and even if he did, it was at the time of death. Regarding such a person, it has been clearly stated that his repentance will not be accepted. And the fourth type is the one who died in a state of disbelief without repenting; his repentance at the time of death also cannot be accepted, and the reason for this has already been mentioned above.
