Quran Universe
23:118

وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱغۡفِرۡ وَٱرۡحَمۡ وَأَنتَ خَيۡرُ ٱلرَّـٰحِمِينَ

Waqul rabbi ighfir wairham waanta khayru alrrahimeena

And, [O Muhammad], say, "My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of the merciful."

Word by word
  1. وَقُلAnd say
  2. رَّبِّMy Lord
  3. ٱغۡفِرۡForgive
  4. وَٱرۡحَمۡand have mercy
  5. وَأَنتَand You
  6. خَيۡرُ(are the) Best
  7. ٱلرَّـٰحِمِينَ(of) those who show mercy
Al-Mu'minun · 23:118Makkah

The surah closes with a plea for forgiveness and mercy.

The surah ends by handing you a dua

The final dua
forgivewipe away and conceal sins
have mercyguide me to say and do good
for
Best of the merciful
How the surah ends
with a threat
with a duaput in your mouth

After all the warnings, Allah teaches the Prophet ﷺ and us one last line. Ibn Kathir says forgiveness means wiping away sins and concealing them from people, and mercy means guiding a person and helping him say and do good things.

You finish a long surah full of warnings, and maybe you feel heavy. Allah does not leave you there. He gives you the words to ask Him: forgive me, have mercy on me.

After reading all those warnings, I feel there is no hope for me.

The surah ends by teaching me to ask the Best of the merciful, so hope is open.

Try this

Say this dua today, slowly, three times: Rabbighfir warham wa anta khayrur-rahimin.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 23:117)

And whoever invokes besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof; then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely, disbelievers will not be successful (117)And say : "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for You are the Best of those who show mercy! (118)

Shirk Is the Worst Form of Wrong, Its Practitioner Shall Never Succeed

Allah threatens those who associate anything else with Him and worship anything with Him.He informs that those who associate others with Allah:

لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ

(of whom he has no proof), meaning no evidence for what he says. Then Allah says:

وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ

(And whoever invokes, besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof;) this is a conditional sentence, whose fulfilling clause is:

فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ

(then his reckoning is only with his Lord.) meaning, Allah will call him to account for that. Then Allah tells us:

 إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ

(Surely, disbelievers will not be successful.) meaning, they will not be successful with Him on the Day of Resurrection; they will not prosper or be saved.

وَقُلْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ 

(And say: "My Lord! Forgive and have mercy, for You are the best of those who show mercy!")

Here Allah is teaching us to recite this supplication, for forgiveness, in a general sense, means wiping away sins and concealing them from people, and mercy means guiding a person and helping him to say and do good things.