23:109

إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَرِيقٞ مِّنۡ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا فَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَا وَأَنتَ خَيۡرُ ٱلرَّـٰحِمِينَ

Innahu kana fareequn min AAibadee yaqooloona rabbana amanna faighfir lana wairhamna waanta khayru alrrahimeena

Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful.'

Word by word
  1. إِنَّهُۥIndeed
  2. كَانَ(there) was
  3. فَرِيقٞa party
  4. مِّنۡof
  5. عِبَادِيMy slaves
  6. يَقُولُونَ(who) said
  7. رَبَّنَآOur Lord
  8. ءَامَنَّاWe believe
  9. فَٱغۡفِرۡso forgive
  10. لَنَاus
  11. وَٱرۡحَمۡنَاand have mercy on us
  12. وَأَنتَand You
  13. خَيۡرُ(are) best
  14. ٱلرَّـٰحِمِينَ(of) those who show mercy
Al-Mu'minun · 23:109Makkah

A group of My servants said: forgive us, have mercy.

The dua of the ones who were mocked


What they said
My servantsa group
said
we believe
forgive, have mercyBest of the merciful
What made them stand out
being perfect
asking for forgivenesshumble, sincere

Allah reminds the people of the Fire of a party of My servants who used to pray: our Lord, we believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, You are the best of the merciful. Ibn Kathir calls them His believing servants and close friends.

Your coworker who steps out to pray. Your quiet aunt who whispers dua all through the family dinner. Allah calls such people "My servants". You can be one of them with one sincere sentence.

Only very pious people are Allah's special servants.

Those who humbly ask for forgiveness are the ones Allah calls His own.

Try this

Memorize this dua today: Rabbana amanna faghfir lana warhamna wa anta khayrur-rahimin.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 23:108)

He (Allah) will say: "Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me! (108)Verily, there was a party of My servants who used to say: "Our Lord! We believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of all who show mercy! (109)But you took them for a laughing stock, so much so that they made you forget My remembrance while you used to laugh at them (110)Verily, I have rewarded them this Day for their patience; they are indeed the ones that are successful (111)

Allah's Response and Rejection of the Disbelievers

This is the response of Allah to the disbelievers when they ask Him to bring them out of the Fire and send them back to this world. He will say:

 اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا

(Remain you in it with ignominy!) meaning, abide therein, humiliated, despised and scorned.

وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

(And speak you not to Me!) means, 'do not ask for this again, for I will not respond to you. Al-'Awfi reported from Ibn 'Abbas concerning this Ayah,

اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

(Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!) "These are the words of Ar-Rahman when silencing them."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that 'Abdullah bin 'Amr said, "The people of Hell will call on Malik for forty years, and he will not answer them. Then he will respond and tell them that they are to abide therein. By Allah, their cries will mean nothing to Malik or to the Lord of Malik. Then they will call on their Lord and will say,

رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ - رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ

(Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were (an) erring people. Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.)(23:106-107) Allah will not answer them for a time span equivalent to twice the duration of this world. Then He will reply:

اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

(Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!)

By Allah, the people will not utter a single word after that, and they will merely be in the Fire of Hell, sighing in a high and low tone. Their voices are likened to those of donkeys, which start in a high tone and end in a low tone."

Then Allah will remind them of their sins in this world and how they used to make fun of His believing servants and close friends:

إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِي يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ - فَاتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا

(Verily, there was a party of My servants who used to say: "Our Lord! We believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of all who show mercy!" But you took them for a laughing stock,) meaning, 'you made fun of them for calling on Me and praying to Me,'

حَتَّىٰ أَنسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِي

(so much so that they made you forget My remembrance) means, your hatred for them made you forget what I would do to you.

وَكُنتُم مِّنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ

(while you used to laugh at them!) means, at their deeds and worship. This is like the Ayah:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ - وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ

(Verily, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed. And, whenever they passed by them, used to wink one to another.)(83:29-30) meaning, they used to slander them in mockery. Then Allah tells us how He will reward His friends and righteous servants, and says:

إِنِّي جَزَيْتُهُمُ الْيَوْمَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا

(Verily, I have rewarded them this Day for their patience;) meaning, 'for the harm and mockery that you inflicted on them,

أَنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ

(they are indeed the ones that are successful.) I have caused them to attain the victory of joy, safety, Paradise and salvation from the Fire.'