إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلًۢا بَعِيدًا 116
Translations
Indeed, Allāh does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allāh has certainly gone far astray.
Transliteration
Inna Allaha la yaghfiru an yushrika bihi wa yaghfiru ma doona dhalika liman yasha'u wa man yushrik billahi faqad dalla dalallan baeeda
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah establishes the gravest sin in Islam—shirk (associating partners with Allah)—which is the only sin that Allah has explicitly stated He will not forgive if a person dies upon it. As Ibn Kathir explains, all other sins, no matter how severe (murder, adultery, theft), fall under the category of 'ma doona dhalika' (what is less than that) and remain subject to Allah's mercy and forgiveness for those He wills. The ayah concludes that one who commits shirk has strayed into a profound and distant misguidance, emphasizing both the spiritual danger and moral bankruptcy of polytheism.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Medinan period within Surah An-Nisa, which addresses community matters and social regulations. The thematic context follows discussions of proper conduct and belief, serving as a foundational principle for Islamic monotheism (tawhid). The placement emphasizes that all ethical, social, and legal commandments in Islam rest upon the unshakeable foundation of pure monotheism without shirk.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah (shirk) while He alone created you' (Sahih Bukhari 4477). Additionally, 'Whoever meets Allah without associating partners with Him will enter Paradise, and whoever meets Him while associating partners with Him will enter the Fire' (Sahih Muslim 93).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that the foundation of faith is absolute monotheism—the rejection of all forms of shirk, whether obvious (worshipping idols) or subtle (placing excessive trust in created beings rather than Allah alone). For modern readers, this underscores that sincere belief in Allah's oneness is the prerequisite for accessing His infinite mercy, while those who compromise this principle risk profound spiritual loss regardless of other good deeds.
Related Ayahs
أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
Unquestionably, to Allāh belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And those who invoke other than Allāh do not [actually] follow [His] "partners." They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.
مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلَا بَعْثُكُمْ إِلَّا كَنَفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
Your creation and your resurrection will not be but as that of a single soul. Indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Seeing.
مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَٱهْدُوهُمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْجَحِيمِ
Other than Allāh, and guide them to the path of Hellfire
ٱتَّخَذُوٓا۟ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَـٰنَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمَسِيحَ ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَآ أُمِرُوٓا۟ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَـٰهًا وَٰحِدًا ۖ لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allāh, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.