And when he was known for his great tolerance and intense gentleness, as indicated by His saying: "Allah has forgiven you; why did you grant them permission?" [At-Tawbah: 43], for the sake of greatly attracting them and his eagerness for the salvation of all creation, he was known for seeking forgiveness for them at times specifically by asking about them when they apologized and swore an oath, and at other times generally when seeking forgiveness for all Muslims. Allah informed him of the consequence of his matter in a way that would dissuade him from them altogether; because they transgressed the right of Allah by abandoning jihad and withholding charity, and his right [sallallahu alayhi wasallam] in being criticized regarding the charities and being described in a manner that is far removed from him, to the rights of the mujahideen, for whom He, glorified and exalted is He, is their caliph in themselves, their families, and their wealth, along with what has preceded in His knowledge regarding the hypocrites that He does not forgive them. He said: "Seek forgiveness" meaning: ask for forgiveness "for them or do not seek forgiveness for them" meaning: your seeking forgiveness for them and your refraining from it is equal in their matter. "If you seek forgiveness" meaning: you ask for forgiveness "for them seventy times" meaning: in a manner of truth or exaggeration; and when the news of the equality of the two matters: seeking forgiveness and refraining from it might be a cause for forgiveness and might be a cause for loss, He specified it in this latter case and said: "Then Allah will not forgive" meaning: the one who has decreed their misfortune, and it is He whose command is not to be rejected. "For them" and it is possible that it is a response to the command, and the response to the condition is omitted for its indication. The meaning of seventy is, as it appears in the outcome, an exaggeration in that He does not forgive them for anything at all. If He were to forgive them for anything, it would be for accepting the intercession of His Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wasallam]. The Arabs exaggerate in what contains the word seventy; because it is a comprehensive limit that encompasses most categories of numbers, and it completes the number of creation like the heavens, the earth, the seas, the regions, and the limbs.

And when he was ﷺ very eager for their guidance and benefit, the true meaning of the verse was the choice in seeking forgiveness and leaving it, and the denial of forgiveness by seeking forgiveness a limited number of seventy. He ﷺ made the verse a restriction for what is in Surah Al-Munafiqun. He sought forgiveness for Ibn Ubayy and prayed for him, and he stood at his grave and stated that if he knew that if he increased beyond seventy, it would be accepted, he would have increased. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was astonished by this from him ﷺ and began to hold him by his garment and say: 'Will you pray for him when Allah has forbidden you from that!' For he did not understand from the verse anything other than the metaphor due to his hatred for the hypocrites. As for the Prophet ﷺ, he saw the adherence to the truth for what is in being gentle with the caliph as a beautiful way to achieve the unity that occurs from disagreement and other benefits and noble returns. For this reason, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would say when the explicit prohibition was revealed: 'I was astonished afterwards at my boldness towards the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; meaning: I realized after this explicit statement that the first was possible, otherwise Allah would have denied the prayer for him. And in Allah's agreement with Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, there is a noble virtue for him. And Allah has agreed with him in many matters. Al-Bukhari narrated in the tafsir and others from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: When Abdullah ibn Ubayy passed away, his son Abdullah ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked him to give him his shirt to shroud his father in it, and he gave it to him. Then he asked him to pray for him; and in a narration regarding the clothing, he gave him his shirt and said: 'When you are done, inform us.' So when he was done, he informed him and came. In another narration: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood to pray for him, and Umar stood and took hold of the garment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Will you pray for him when Allah has forbidden you to pray for him!' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Indeed, Allah has given me the choice and said: ﴿Seek forgiveness for them or do not seek forgiveness for them. If you seek forgiveness for them seventy times﴾, and I will increase it beyond seventy.' In another narration: 'If I knew that if I increased beyond seventy, he would be forgiven, I would have increased.' He said: 'Indeed, he is a hypocrite.' So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed for him. Then Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, revealed: ﴿And do not pray for any of them who dies ever, and do not stand at his grave﴾ [At-Tawbah: 84] to: ﴿And they are disobedient﴾ [At-Tawbah: 84]. So he stopped praying for them. He said: 'I was astonished afterwards at my boldness towards the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' And Allah and His Messenger know best.

And he has in the later part of the jihad from Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: "When the day of Badr came, the captives were brought forth, and Al-Abbas was brought forth and he did not have a garment on him. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, looked for a shirt and they found the shirt of Abdullah ibn Ubayy that he could wear, so the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, clothed him with it. For this reason, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, removed the shirt that he had dressed him in." Ibn Uyaynah said: He had a favor with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, so he loved to reward him. In a narration from him regarding the clothing, he said: "The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, came to Ibn Ubayy after he was placed in his grave and he ordered for him to be taken out and he was placed on his knees, and he breathed upon him from his saliva and clothed him with his shirt." This ended.

It is as if his son, may Allah be pleased with him, felt shy to inform the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, about him due to what he knew of his hypocrisy, or he informed him, blessings and peace be upon him, about him but he encountered a matter that occupied him, so he buried him. Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, came after he had been placed in the grave and before the completion of the burial, so he was taken out to honor the heart of his son, the righteous man, and to dispel what he might think of hardship upon him and to unite with others. It has been narrated that he said, blessings and peace be upon him: "I hope from Allah that many will enter into Islam because of this reason." So a thousand from Al-Khazraj embraced Islam because they saw him seeking healing with the shirt of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. In some narrations, it is said that he was the one who requested from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to shroud him in his shirt. His compassion towards him is a call for the mercy of the Muslims and the compassion of some of them towards one another. And his saying: "And he clothed him with his shirt" - with the 'and' does not contradict the first narration. The first narration can be understood as he promised him the giving of the shirt due to a hindrance that was present at the time of the request, so the certainty of giving was based on the truthful promise, and then he fulfilled it after taking him out from the grave - and Allah knows best.

This verse came as a response to one who might say: What has preceded regarding the conditions of the hypocrites was a violation of the sanctity of Allah or the right of the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. It did not mention that He humiliates them by causing them to die in hypocrisy. It would have sufficed in this matter for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to seek forgiveness for them. As for these two categories, one of them informed that He will cause them to die as hypocrites, and the second violated the sanctity of the sincere among the companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. So will seeking forgiveness benefit them? It is as if it was said: Seeking forgiveness and not seeking it are equal in that it will not benefit them. He concluded it with the reason for the lack of forgiveness in His saying: (p-561) 'That' meaning: the matter which is far removed from the action of the Wise and Generous, 'because they disbelieved in Allah' meaning: and He is the Most Great King, 'and His Messenger' meaning: they do not deserve forgiveness because they have not been guided due to their persistence in sin, which is a state that exists within them in excess of seventy, just as it exists within them in being limited to seventy. 'And Allah' meaning: the One who encompasses knowledge and power, 'does not guide the disobedient people' meaning: that He does not guide them because He has made them inclined towards sin. And everyone whom He does not guide because He has made them inclined towards sin, He does not forgive them. He does not forgive them for what He knows of them that others do not know. This is a preparation for the excuse of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in seeking forgiveness for them before knowledge of the nature which cannot be returned from.