39. Az-Zumar (The Throngs)

Mecca Period 59 [75 verses]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ...

39: 53. Say:

"O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah:

... إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا...

for Allah forgives all sins:

C4324. Forgives all sins: i.e., on sincere repentance and amendment of conduct.

... إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾

for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Asad’s Version:

39:53 SAY: "[Thus speaks God: 57 ] "O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God's mercy: behold, God forgives all sins 58 - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!'"

Yuksel’s Version:

Never Despair; Always Be an Optimist

39:53 Say, "O My servants who transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God's mercy. For God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, the Compassionate."*

[[ Yuksel’s note - 039:053 Associating partners with God (shirk), is a different category than sin (zanb); it is an unforgivable crime. See 4:48,116; Also, see 12:87; 15:56; 30:36; 41:49, and 39:10. The pronoun in "my servant" refers to God, since according to numerous verses only God can be the master. This sudden shift in pronouns is called iltifat (conversion, turning one's face to someone) in Arabic literature, which is defined as "the change of speech from one mode to another, for the sake of freshness and variety for the listener, to renew his interest, and to keep his mind from boredom and frustration, through having the one mode continuously at his ear." On this and other literary aspects of the Quran, I recommend Neal Robinson's book: Discovering The Qur'ān: A Contemporary Approach To A Veiled Text (1996, SCM Press Ltd.). For other examples of iltifat, see 35:9; 69:41-47; 16:1-2; 39:15-16; 89:25-30; 20:113-114; 67:18-19; 5:44; 20:124; 75:1-3; 2:38; 11:37; 50:45; 1:2-5; 19:88; 52:17-19; 16:72; 45:35; 30:38; and 70:39-4; 17:1-3; 17:95; 39:53; 10:22. ]]

[[ Asad’s note - 58 Sc, "whenever the sinner repents and turns to Him": cf, for instance, 6:54 - "Your Sustainer has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy - so that if any of you does a bad deed out of ignorance, and thereafter repents and lives righteously, He shall be [found] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace"; or 4:1 10 - "he who does evil or [otherwise] sins against himself, and thereafter prays God to forgive him, shall find God much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace". ]]