His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins. And who can forgive sins except Allah? And they do not persist in what they have done while they know." "Those are their reward: forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. And excellent is the reward of the workers."

Allah, exalted and majestic is He, mentioned in this verse a category different from the first category, and He included them with His mercy and grace. These are the repentant. It has been narrated regarding the reason for these two verses that the companions said: "O Messenger of Allah, the Children of Israel were more honored by Allah than us when a sinner among them would wake up and his punishment would be written on the door of his house. So Allah revealed this verse as an expansion and mercy," as a compensation for that action with the Children of Israel. It has also been narrated that Iblis cried when this verse was revealed. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "There is no servant who commits a sin, then stands up, purifies himself, and prays two units, and seeks forgiveness except that he is forgiven."

And His saying "And those who" is a conjunction of one sentence to another, and "those who" is not an adjective repeated with the conjunction, because that first category is free from committing immoral acts. The immorality here is an attribute of something omitted, where the attribute has taken its place. The meaning is: they committed an immoral act, and it is a term that encompasses all sins. It has often been specified with adultery, until al-Suddi interpreted this verse as referring to adultery. Jabir ibn Abdullah, when he recited it, said: "The people committed adultery, by the Lord of the Kaaba." And Ibrahim al-Nakha'i said: "Immorality is from wrongdoing, and wrongdoing is from immorality." Some said: "Immorality in this verse refers to the major sins, and wrongdoing of oneself refers to the minor sins."

And "they remembered Allah" means: with fear of His punishment and shyness from Him, as He is the Benefactor and the Gracious. From this is the saying of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him: "May Allah have mercy on Suhayb. If he had not feared Allah, he would not have disobeyed Him." And "they sought forgiveness" means: they requested forgiveness, and the 'lam' means: for the sake of their sins. Then, during the speech, His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And who can forgive sins except Allah?" is an interruption that softens the soul, calling to Allah, and hoping for His pardon when one returns to Him. And the name of Allah is raised after the exception, and the speech is affirmative, based on the meaning, as it means: and who forgives sins except Allah?

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And they did not persist" means: the determination to continue in the matter and to leave off ceasing from it. From this is the tying of coins, and from this is the saying of Abu al-Sammal Qanb al-Adawi: "Allah knew that it was from me a determination." So persistence is the determination to remain in sin, and from this is the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: "There is no repentance with persistence," and he also said: "He who persists does not repent."

The statements of the interpreters regarding persistence differ. Qatadah said: It is the one who continues in sin and is not deterred by the fear of Allah. Al-Hasan said: The act of a servant committing sin is persistence until he dies. Mujahid said: 'They did not persist' means: they did not continue. Al-Suddi said: Persistence is the abandonment of seeking forgiveness and remaining silent about the sin.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'And they know' Al-Suddi said: Its meaning is that they know they have sinned. Ibn Ishaq said: Its meaning is that they know what has been forbidden to them. Others said: Its meaning is that they know the door of repentance is open for them. It was said: The meaning is that they know that I will punish for persistence.

Then the Exalted shared the two mentioned groups in His saying: 'Those are their reward'... the verse. This indicates that Allah, the Exalted, has made it obligatory upon Himself, by this truthful report, to accept the repentance of the repentant. And there is nothing that is obligatory upon Him from the perspective of reason, but it is by the ruling of ownership that there is no one to question His command.

And His saying: 'And excellent is the reward of the doers' is like His saying: 'And excellent is the reward,' because 'excellent' and 'wretched' require defined nouns or what is attributed to them. And this verse is not like His saying, the Exalted: 'Wretched is the example of the people' [Al-A'raf: 177], because 'excellent' and 'wretched' require defined nouns or what is attributed to them. And this verse is not like His saying, the Exalted: 'Wretched is the example of the people' [Al-A'raf: 177], because the example here is attributed to something known, not to a type. Therefore, Abu Ali estimated it: Wretched is the example, the example of the people, and it is possible that the example of the people is elevated by 'wretched' and nothing is implied.