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In the name of Allah , Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Salaam/peace
God: Forgiving or Not?
Zainy: I thought Allah was the All-Forgiving. But I was told and was even quoted a verse from surat Ar-Rahman that He does not forgive shirk (associating other beings/gods with Allah). Is this true?
Won’t many people from polytheistic religions then lose hope of forgiveness in Islam?
Shahul Hameed:…Indeed Allah’s mercy is discernible in the whole of His creation; and a whole chapter of the Quran is named after Allah the All-Merciful (Al-Rahman, Chapter 55).
Indeed 113 chapters of the Quran begin with: “In the name of Allah the Most-Compassionate; the Most-Merciful”. This is a formula that serves to constantly remind the readers of the Quran, of the All-Encompassing mercy and forgiveness of Allah Almighty.
And there is also an assurance from Allah the All Merciful that He will forgive the sins of all those who repent and return to Him.
Your Lord hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) mercy: verily, if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented, and amended (his conduct), lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Al-An`am 6:54)
There is a hadith qudsi (divine hadith) also that states: “My mercy prevails over My wrath.”
But about shirk (polytheism), Allah the Almighty says in the noble Quran what gives the meaning of:
Allah forgives not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgives whom He pleases other sins than this: one who joins other gods with Allah, has strayed far, far away (from the right) the right what…I guess a completion needed. (Al-Nisaa’ 4:116)
This verse in fact underscores the fact that the sin of polytheism is the gravest of all sins; because it is like treason which seeks to undermine the sovereignty and Lordship of Allah the Almighty.
All the same, we can also find another verse in the Quran, which teaches us more about the all-embracing nature of the forgiveness of Allah the Almighty:
Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Az-Zumar 39:53)
…Allah does not forgive polytheism, is about people who commit polytheism even after they have understood it to be a serious sin; and the verse is not relevant to those who had earlier committed polytheism, that is, before they were aware of the gravity of the sin of polytheism.
But once they have come to know that polytheism is an unforgivable sin, their natural course of action is to avoid it at all costs. If not, they violate the command of Allah prohibiting polytheism, and consequently they do not deserve Allah’s forgiveness.
Useful Links: “My Mercy Prevails Over My Wrath”
Mercy Toward Our Fellow Creations
When Divine Mercy Supersedes Justice
God’s Unchanging Words of Mercy
Self-imposed Darkness and Light of Infinite Mercy
Mercy, Through Hell…
Salaam/peace
God: Forgiving or Not?
Zainy: I thought Allah was the All-Forgiving. But I was told and was even quoted a verse from surat Ar-Rahman that He does not forgive shirk (associating other beings/gods with Allah). Is this true?
Won’t many people from polytheistic religions then lose hope of forgiveness in Islam?
Shahul Hameed:…Indeed Allah’s mercy is discernible in the whole of His creation; and a whole chapter of the Quran is named after Allah the All-Merciful (Al-Rahman, Chapter 55).
Indeed 113 chapters of the Quran begin with: “In the name of Allah the Most-Compassionate; the Most-Merciful”. This is a formula that serves to constantly remind the readers of the Quran, of the All-Encompassing mercy and forgiveness of Allah Almighty.
And there is also an assurance from Allah the All Merciful that He will forgive the sins of all those who repent and return to Him.
Your Lord hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) mercy: verily, if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented, and amended (his conduct), lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Al-An`am 6:54)
There is a hadith qudsi (divine hadith) also that states: “My mercy prevails over My wrath.”
But about shirk (polytheism), Allah the Almighty says in the noble Quran what gives the meaning of:
Allah forgives not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgives whom He pleases other sins than this: one who joins other gods with Allah, has strayed far, far away (from the right) the right what…I guess a completion needed. (Al-Nisaa’ 4:116)
This verse in fact underscores the fact that the sin of polytheism is the gravest of all sins; because it is like treason which seeks to undermine the sovereignty and Lordship of Allah the Almighty.
All the same, we can also find another verse in the Quran, which teaches us more about the all-embracing nature of the forgiveness of Allah the Almighty:
Say: “O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Az-Zumar 39:53)
…Allah does not forgive polytheism, is about people who commit polytheism even after they have understood it to be a serious sin; and the verse is not relevant to those who had earlier committed polytheism, that is, before they were aware of the gravity of the sin of polytheism.
But once they have come to know that polytheism is an unforgivable sin, their natural course of action is to avoid it at all costs. If not, they violate the command of Allah prohibiting polytheism, and consequently they do not deserve Allah’s forgiveness.
Useful Links: “My Mercy Prevails Over My Wrath”
Mercy Toward Our Fellow Creations
When Divine Mercy Supersedes Justice
God’s Unchanging Words of Mercy
Self-imposed Darkness and Light of Infinite Mercy
Mercy, Through Hell…