Tafsir for verse: 42:37
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَجۡتَنِبُونَ كَبَٰٓئِرَ ٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَٱلۡفَوَٰحِشَ وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُواْ هُمۡ يَغۡفِرُونَ ٣٧ ﴿37
37and (for) those who abstain from the major sins and from shameful acts; and (for those who) when they get angry, they forgive,
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Commentary

And when both faith and reliance are matters that are internal, it is necessary to have evidence of them from the outward actions. There are removals of vices and adornments with virtues. The removals are prioritized over the adornments, as they serve to avert evils, while the adornments attract benefits. He said, adding to 'those': 'And those who avoid' meaning they compel themselves to respond to 'the major sins' which are the kinds of major actions that only exist among their individuals and result in a stain on the soul. This necessitates punishment for it along with the body. He added to 'the major sins' his saying: 'and the abominations,' which are what the law, reason, and nature have condemned. These are the three signs of Allah, which He has set as evidence against His servants, and He has the decisive proof. The people have found its matter to be tremendous, even if they are minor, due to their indication of a breach of honor, such as stealing a morsel and the acknowledgment of sin from a venerable elder to one who does not fear or hope for him. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: 'major,' which is for the genus, so it is in the meaning of the reading of the plural or it is more eloquent for its comprehensiveness of the singular. And when he mentioned what ambitions may lead to without carrying the overwhelming anger, he said, alerting to its greatness, expressing with the tool of verification as an indication that there is no settling of the soul upon it, linking it to the act of forgiveness: 'And when' and he emphasized with his saying: 'what.' He presented anger as a reference to the concern of extinguishing its ember and cooling its heat, so he said: 'they become angry,' meaning an anger that is truly from a matter that is usually angering. He clarified with the pronoun of separation that their inner selves in their forgiveness are like their outward selves, so he said: 'they forgive,' meaning the counting and concealing, as whenever anger is renewed for them, they renew forgiveness, meaning the erasure of the sin itself and its effect, along with the ability to take revenge. Their natures necessitate pardon without revenge unless there is oppression from the oppressor, for one is not held accountable merely for anger except for the arrogant, and arrogance is not suitable for anyone other than Allah. This is because it does not obscure their understanding when matters become severe, as it obscures the understanding of others from the folly of ignorance and the foolishness of opinion. This indicates that forgiveness without anger is not considered in relation to forgiveness with it. In the authentic narration, 'He, blessings and peace be upon him, never avenged himself except when the sanctities of Allah were violated.' And Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibrahim, who said: The believers disliked to be humiliated, and when they were able, they forgave.

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