وَرَبُّكَ الغَفورُ ذُو الرَّحمَةِ ۖ لَو يُؤاخِذُهُم بِما كَسَبوا لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ العَذابَ ۚ بَل لَهُم مَوعِدٌ لَن يَجِدوا مِن دونِهِ مَوئِلًا
Your Lord is the all-forgiving dispenser of mercy. Were He to take them to task because of what they have committed, He would have surely hastened their punishment. But they have a tryst, [when] they will not find a refuge besides Him.
EXEGESIS
Ghafūr (all-forgiving) is the intensive form of ghāfir, the one who forgives. For more on this term see the exegeses of 2:58.
Dhū al-raḥmah (possessor of mercy): dhū means the one who is in possession of something. Raḥmah means mercy. Literally, it is the one who is in possession of mercy. Mercy belongs to God and He gives of it to whom He wills.
The intensive form ghafūr indicates one who is exceedingly forgiving. The definitive article al in front of raḥmah means one who has all mercy, not just some. The word ghafūr then acts as an auxiliary to dhū al-raḥmah, increasing its scope even further, to those who might not deserve the mercy of God, but will also receive it due to His forgiving nature.
Mawʿid (tryst) comes from waʿd meaning to promise. It refers to the promised or appointed time, or sometimes even place.
Mawʾil (refuge) is from the root waʾala which may mean to be delivered or to take refuge. Thus, mawʾil may mean a refuge (maljaʾ), a sanctuary (maḥraz), or a place of safety (manjā). In summary, mawʾil is a place to which a person flees to be secure from danger.
EXPOSITION
This verse builds on what was brought up in the previous, that God is the source of good and justice, whereas man can often commit evil and injustice. The previous verse ended with the declaration that they will never [let themselves] be guided. If there is no hope for their guidance then it might reasonably be argued that God should destroy such people, as we might think that their continued existence is nothing but a source of corruption. Now He explains why He has not destroyed them.
Your Lord is the all-forgiving dispenser of mercy: all-forgiving should not be understood as God has forgiven their sins completely, but rather He does not take them to task quickly and gives them respite. In other words, He has forgiven them as far as it extends to the worldly consequences of those actions, as is explained by what immediately follows, Were He to take them to task … this is to let them reconsider their thoughts and actions and go back to guidance. This is the mercy of God, the dispenser of mercy. His mercy encompasses both the devoted and the deviant: I visit My punishment on whomever I wish, but My mercy embraces all things (7:156). With this in mind there is no need to resort to the arguments of some exegetes that this part of the verse is somehow only specifically intending the believers and not others, which makes the structure of the verse seem very disjointed.
The guidance of God ties into this as well. His guidance is a mercy that comes to all, even if only the believers accept that mercy and choose to follow it, thereby benefitting from it.
Were He to take them to task because of what they have committed, He would have surely hastened their punishment: this means to take them to task in this world, before the hereafter. Certainly, they would see the punishment in the hereafter if they do not repent and change. However, it is not just the wrongdoers who enjoy this mercy of postponement, rather all people, Were Allah to take mankind to task because of what they have earned, He would not leave any living being on its back. But He respites them until a specified time (35:45).
Even though God may not hasten the punishment for some people in this world, it should not be taken as a sign that He is pleased with them or has forgone justice, rather: they have a tryst, [when] they will not find a refuge besides Him. The tryst is the arrangement informed of beforehand, when God has warned people of the day when they must all stand before His court and face judgement for their actions. This is similar to meaning of tryst earlier in the surah, They will be presented before your Lord in ranks: ‘Certainly you have come to Us just as We created you the first time. Rather, you maintained that We shall not appoint a tryst for you’ (verse 48).
The import is that even though the guilty have not been punished in this world they should not think themselves saved from punishment. Like those who mocked Prophet Muhammad (s), And when they come to you they greet you with that with which Allah never greeted you, and they say to themselves: ‘Why does not Allah punish us for what we say?!’ Let hell suffice them (58:8). There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that a reckoning will come, sooner or later.
The verse is an important reminder as well to Muslims that even if they were to think that someone is beyond guidance – which obviously is not something for us to know – then it does not justify or excuse their mistreatment. Rather, God has decreed that they be allowed to spend their days, even if in disbelief and denial, until such a time that He has appointed.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Ṭabarī and some other scholars have understood tryst to be referring to the day of Badr, when many of the enemies of Islam were killed. According to this understanding the punishment was delayed, but only until an appointed day in this world. While the context of this verse suggests it is the punishment of the hereafter that is being spoken of, the context of the next one may be seen as indicating that tryst means the destruction that comes in this world.
Abū Ḥayyān prefers the understanding that it refers to death. What we mentioned earlier is most suitable though.
[1] Mizan, 13/334. After having said this Tabatabai advises one to avoid the long, drawn-out arguments made by some about the meaning of these two words. He is likely referring to the lengthy debates and discussions about this in Alusi, 8/287-288, which is needlessly overcomplicating the issue.
[2] See Alusi, 8/288.
[3] Tibyan, 7/63; Tabari, 15/175.
[4] Tantawi, 8/544.
[5] See Mizan, 13/333.
[6] See also Mizan, 13/334.
[7] See for example Qurtubi, 11/7.
[8] See Qurtubi, 11/7.
[9] Tibyan, 7/63.
[10] That is, on the surface of the earth.
[11] Tibyan, 7/63; Tabrisi, 6/739; Thalabi, 6/179; Baghawi, 3/201.
[12] See also the usage of mawʿid in 54:46, where it refers to the Day of Judgement.
[13] Tabari, 15/174; Zamakhshari, 2/730.
[14] Muhit, 7/195.