[The Words of the Almighty: "And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness"]

9020 - My father narrated to us, Abu Salih, the scribe of al-Layth, narrated to us, Mu'awiyah ibn Salih narrated to us, from Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn Abbas, regarding "And Allah would not punish them while you are among them," he says: Allah, Glorified be He, would not punish a people while His Prophet is among them until He removes him from them. Then He said: "And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness," he says: And among them are those for whom it has already been decreed by Allah that they will enter into faith, and it is the seeking of forgiveness, so they seek forgiveness; he means by this the people of Mecca.

9021 - And two statements were narrated from Mujahid: One of them is that "they seek forgiveness" means "they perform prayer," and the other is that "they seek forgiveness" means "they are Muslims."

And it was narrated from Ikrimah that it means: "They are entering into Islam."

9022 - My father narrated to us, Ali ibn al-Ja'd narrated to us, Fudayl ibn Marzuq narrated to us, from Atiyyah, regarding His saying: "And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness," he said: Meaning the believers.

9023 - Ahmad ibn Uthman ibn Hakim informed us—in what he wrote to me—Ahmad ibn al-Mufaddal narrated to us, Asbat narrated to us, from al-Suddi, regarding "And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness," he said: Allah the Almighty said to His Messenger: I would not punish them while they are seeking forgiveness. He says: Had they sought forgiveness and acknowledged their sins, they would have been believers.

9024 - Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, Yazid ibn Abd al-Aziz narrated to us, Sulayman ibn Hassan al-Shami narrated to us, from Ibn Lahi'ah, from Ata' ibn Dinar, he said: Sa'id ibn Jubayr was asked about seeking forgiveness, and he said: Allah the Almighty said: "And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness." He says: They act upon forgiveness, and I know that people will enter Hell who seek forgiveness with their tongues, from among those who claim Islam and other religions.

And it was narrated from al-Dahhak and Abu Malik that "they seek forgiveness" means: The believers who were in Mecca.

9025 - My father narrated to us, Abd al-Ghaffar ibn Dawud narrated to us, al-Nadr ibn Arabi narrated to us, he said: Ibn Abbas said that Allah the Almighty placed two securities in this Ummah, as long as they remain, they will be protected and spared from the calamities of punishment while they are among them: One security which Allah took to Himself, and one security that remained among you, which is His saying: "But Allah would not punish them while you are among them, and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness."