At-Tawbah Verse 80 | 9:80

اِسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ اَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْۗ اِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِيْنَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَّغْفِرَ اللّٰهُ لَهُمْ ۗذٰلِكَ بِاَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوْا بِاللّٰهِ وَرَسُوْلِهٖۗ وَاللّٰهُ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْفٰسِقِيْنَ ࣖ ( التوبة: ٨٠ )

is'taghfir

ٱسْتَغْفِرْ

Ask forgiveness

lahum

لَهُمْ

for them

أَوْ

lā

لَا

(do) not

tastaghfir

تَسْتَغْفِرْ

ask forgiveness

lahum

لَهُمْ

for them

إِن

tastaghfir

تَسْتَغْفِرْ

you ask forgiveness

lahum

لَهُمْ

for them

sabʿīna

سَبْعِينَ

seventy

marratan

مَرَّةً

times

falan

فَلَن

never

yaghfira

يَغْفِرَ

will Allah forgive

l-lahu

ٱللَّهُ

will Allah forgive

lahum

لَهُمْۚ

[for] them

dhālika

ذَٰلِكَ

That

bi-annahum

بِأَنَّهُمْ

(is) because they

kafarū

كَفَرُوا۟

disbelieved

bil-lahi

بِٱللَّهِ

in Allah

warasūlihi

وَرَسُولِهِۦۗ

and His Messenger

wal-lahu

وَٱللَّهُ

and Allah

lā

لَا

(does) not

yahdī

يَهْدِى

guide

l-qawma

ٱلْقَوْمَ

the people

l-fāsiqīna

ٱلْفَٰسِقِينَ

the defiantly disobedient

istaghfir lahum aw laa tastaghfir lahum in tastaghfir lahum sab'eena marratan falany yaghfiral laahu lahum; zaalika bi annahum kafaroo billaahi wa Rasoolih; wallaahu laa yahdil qawmal faasiqeen (at-Tawbah 9:80)

Sahih International:

Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times – never will Allah forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. (At-Tawbah [9] : 80)

1 Mufti Taqi Usmani

(It is all equal whether you) ask pardon for them or do not ask pardon for them. Even if you ask pardon for them seventy times, Allah will never pardon them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger. Allah does not lead the sinning people to the right path.

2 Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

3 Ruwwad Translation Center

4 A. J. Arberry

5 Abdul Haleem

6 Abdul Majid Daryabadi

7 Abdullah Yusuf Ali

8 Abul Ala Maududi

9 Ahmed Ali

10 Ahmed Raza Khan

11 Ali Quli Qarai

12 Ali Ünal

13 Amatul Rahman Omar

14 English Literal

15 Faridul Haque

16 Hamid S. Aziz

17 Hilali & Khan

18 Maulana Mohammad Ali

19 Mohammad Habib Shakir

20 Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

21 Muhammad Sarwar

22 Qaribullah & Darwish

23 Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

24 Wahiduddin Khan

25 Talal Itani

26 Tafsir jalalayn

Ask forgiveness for them, O Muhammad (s), or do not ask forgiveness for them; this leaves the choice of asking forgiveness, or refraining, up to him; the Prophet (s) said, `I have been given the choice, and I made it', meaning [the choice] to ask forgiveness, as reported by al-Bukhr. If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them; it is said that the `seventy' is intended to express [by hyperbole] a great frequency of asking forgiveness. In [the Sahh of] al-Bukhr there is a hadth [which states]; `If I was sure that were I to ask more than seventy times, God would forgive [them], I would have done so'. It is also said, however, that the very number [seventy] is actually meant, on account of this other hadth of his; `I shall ask more than seventy times', whereupon it was made clear to him [the Prophet] that the matter regarding forgiveness had been concluded by the verse, [Q. 63;6] Alike it will be regarding them; whether you ask forgiveness for them or you do not ask forgiveness for them [God will not forgive them]; that is because they disbelieved in God and His Messenger; and God does not guide the wicked folk.

27 Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Prohibition of asking for Forgiveness for Hypocrites

Allah says,

اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللّهُ لَهُمْ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاللّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ

Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them -- (and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness -- Allah will not forgive them because they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger. And Allah guides not those people who are rebellious.

Allah says to His Prophet that hypocrites are not worthy of seeking forgiveness for them and that if he asks Allah to forgive them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them.

The number seventy here was mentioned to close the door on this subject, for Arabs use this number when they exaggerate, not that they actually mean seventy or more than seventy.

Ash-Sha`bi said that;

when Abdullah bin Ubayy was dying, his son went to the Prophet and said to him, "My father has died, I wish you could attend him and pray the funeral prayer for him."

The Prophet said,

مَا اسْمُك

"What is you name?"

He said, "Al-Hubab bin Abdullah."

The Prophet said,

بَلْ أَنْتَ عَبْدُاللهِ بْنُ عَبْدِاللهِ إِنَّ الْحُبَابَ اسْمَ شَيْطَان

Rather, you are Abdullah bin Abdullah, for Al-Hubab is a devil's name.

The Prophet went along with him, attended his father's funeral, gave him his shirt as a shroud and prayed the funeral prayer for him. He was asked, "Would you pray on him, when he is a hypocrite"

He said,

إِنَّ اللهَ قَالَ

Allah said, (
إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً
(and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness...),

وَلَاسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ وَسَبْعِينَ وَسَبْعِين

Verily, I will ask Allah to forgive them seventy times and seventy more and seventy more.)"

Similar narrations were collected from Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, Mujahid, Qatadah bin Di`amah and Ibn Jarir