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Al-Anfal 38

Ayah 38 of 75 · Medinan

قُل لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ إِن يَنتَهُواْ يُغۡفَرۡ لَهُم مَّا قَدۡ سَلَفَ وَإِن يَعُودُواْ فَقَدۡ مَضَتۡ سُنَّتُ ٱلۡأَوَّلِينَ ٣٨

Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the former [rebellious] peoples has already taken place.1

Translation: Saheeh International (English)

1 This is a warning that punishment is always the result of rebellion against Allāh and His messengers.

Word by word

Each word's meaning and sound

  1. قُلSayqul
  2. لِّلَّذِينَto those wholilladhīna
  3. كَفَرُوٓاْdisbelievekafarū
  4. إِنifin
  5. يَنتَهُواْthey ceaseyantahū
  6. يُغۡفَرۡwill be forgivenyugh'far
  7. لَهُمfor themlahum
  8. مَّاwhatmā
  9. قَدۡ[verily]qad
  10. سَلَفَ(is) pastsalafa
  11. وَإِنBut ifwa-in
  12. يَعُودُواْthey returnyaʿūdū
  13. فَقَدۡthen verilyfaqad
  14. مَضَتۡprecededmaḍat
  15. سُنَّتُ(the) practicesunnatu
  16. ٱلۡأَوَّلِينَ(of) the former (people)l-awalīna

Tafsir

Say, O Messenger, to those of your people who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger that if they stop disbelieving in Allah and His Messenger and preventing the believers from Allah’s path, then Allah will forgive their past sins, because Islam wipes out what is before it; but if they return to their disbelief, then Allah’s way of dealing with earlier people has already come as a warning: when they rejected and continued in their disbelief, He swiftly punished them.

Al-Mukhtasar in interpreting the Noble Quran