Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 64

Mufti Taqi Usmani

We did not send any Messenger but to be obeyed by the leave of Allah. Had they, after having wronged themselves, come to you and sought forgiveness from Allah, and had the Messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would certainly have found Allah Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

We only sent messengers to be obeyed by Allah’s Will. If only those ˹hypocrites˺ came to you ˹O Prophet˺—after wronging themselves—seeking Allah’s forgiveness and the Messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would have certainly found Allah ever Accepting of Repentance, Most Merciful.

Ruwwad Translation Center

We did not send any Messenger but to be obeyed by Allah’s permission. If only they had come to you [O Prophet] – after wronging themselves – and had asked Allah for forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked for forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of Repentance, Most Merciful.

A. J. Arberry

We sent not ever any Messenger, but that he should he obeyed, by the leave of God. If; when they wronged themselves, they had come to thee, and prayed forgiveness of God, and the Messenger had prayed forgiveness for them, they would have found God turns, All-compassionate.

Abdul Haleem

All the messengers We sent were meant to be obeyed, by God’s leave. If only [the hypocrites] had come to you [Prophet] when they wronged themselves, and begged God’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found that God accepts repentance and is most merciful.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And not an apostle We have sent but to be obeyed by Allah's command. And if they, when they had wronged their souls, had come unto thee and begged forgiveness of Allah, and the apostle had begged forgiveness for them they would surely have found Allah Relentant, Merciful.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We sent not a messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

Abul Ala Maududi

(And tell them that) We never sent a Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the leave of Allah. If whenever they wronged themselves they had come to you praying to Allah for forgiveness, and had the Messenger prayed for their forgiveness, they would indeed have found Allah All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.

Ahmed Ali

We have sent no apostle but that he should be obeyed by the will of God. If they had come to you after wronging themselves and asked forgiveness of God, and you had also asked forgiveness for them, they would surely have found God forgiving and merciful.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And We did not send any Noble Messenger except that he be obeyed by Allah’s command; and if they, when they have wronged their own souls, come humbly to you (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) and seek forgiveness from Allah, and the Noble Messenger intercedes for them, they will certainly find Allah as the Most Acceptor Of Repentance, the Most Merciful.

Ali Quli Qarai

We did not send any apostle but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave. Had they, when they wronged themselves, come to you and pleaded to Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for them [to Allah]for forgiveness, they would have surely found Allah all-clement, all-merciful.

Ali Ünal

(Everyone should know well that) We have never sent a Messenger but that he should be obeyed by God’s leave. If, when they wronged themselves (by committing a sin), they but came to you and implored God to forgive them – with the Messenger praying to God for their forgiveness – they would find that God is One Who returns the repentance of His servants with liberal forgiveness and additional reward, and All-Compassionate.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the leave of Allâh. Had they, when they had acted contrary to their own interests, come to you and sought the protection of Allâh, and had this perfect Messenger (also) sought protection for them they would have surely found Allâh Oft-Returning with compassion, Ever Merciful.

English Literal

And We did not sent from a messenger except to be obeyed with God`s permission; and if that when they caused injustice/oppression to themselves, they came to you, so they asked for forgiveness (from) God, and the messenger asked for forgiveness for them, they would have found God forgiving, merciful.

Faridul Haque

And We did not send any Noble Messenger except that he be obeyed by Allah’s command; and if they, when they have wronged their own souls, come humbly to you (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him) and seek forgiveness from Allah, and the Noble Messenger intercedes for them, they will certainly find Allah as the Most Acceptor Of Repentance, the Most Merciful.

Hamid S. Aziz

But had we prescribed for them, "Sacrifice your lives, or leave your homes" they would not have done it, save only a few of them. But had they done what they were told, then it would have been better for them, and more strengthening.

Hilali & Khan

We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allah's Leave. If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad SAW) and begged Allah's Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

These are they, the secrets of whose hearts Allah knows; so turn aside from them and admonish them and speak to them effective words concerning themselves.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And We did not send any apostle but that he should be obeyed by Allah's permission; and had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Apostle had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

We sent no messenger save that he should be obeyed by Allah's leave. And if, when they had wronged themselves, they had but come unto thee and asked forgiveness of Allah, and asked forgiveness of the messenger, they would have found Allah Forgiving, Merciful.

Muhammad Sarwar

We did not send any Messengers for any reason other than to be obeyed because of the will of God. If they ever do injustice to themselves and come to you (Muhammad) asking for God's forgiveness and if the Messenger also was to ask God to forgive them, they would certainly find God All-forgiving and All-merciful.

Qaribullah & Darwish

We did not send a Messenger except that he should be obeyed, by the permission of Allah. If, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you and asked Allah for forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked for forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah the Turner, the Most Merciful.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allah's leave. If they, when they were unjust to themselves, had come to you and begged Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them, indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Wahiduddin Khan

All the messengers We sent were meant to be obeyed by God's leave. If they had come to you and sought forgiveness from God whenever they wronged themselves, and the Messenger had prayed for forgiveness for them, they would have found that God is ever-forgiving and merciful.

Talal Itani

We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by God’s leave. Had they, when they wronged themselves, come to you, and prayed for God's forgiveness, and the Messenger had prayed for their forgiveness, they would have found God Relenting and Merciful.

Tafsir jalalayn

We never sent any Messenger, but that he should be obeyed, in what he commands and judges, by the leave, by the command, of God, and not that he should be disobeyed or opposed. If, when they had wronged themselves, by seeking the judgement of the false idol, they had come to you, repentant, and asked forgiveness from God, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them (there is a shift from the second [to the third] person in this address, in deference to his [the Prophet's (s)] status); they would have found God Relenting, to them, Merciful, to them.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Necessity of Obeying the Messenger

Allah said,

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ لِيُطَاعَ

We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed,

meaning, obeying the Prophet was ordained for those to whom Allah sends the Prophet.

Allah's statement,

بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ

by Allah's leave,

According to Mujahid, means,

"None shall obey, except by My leave,"

This Ayah indicates that the Prophets are only obeyed by whomever Allah directs to obedience.

In another Ayah, Allah said,

وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُمْ بِإِذْنِهِ

And Allah did indeed fulfill His promise to you when you were killing them (your enemy) with His permission. (3;152)

meaning, by His command, decree, will and because He granted you superiority over them.

Allah's statement,

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَأوُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ اللّهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ

If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you and begged Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them,

directs the sinners and evildoers, when they commit errors and mistakes, to come to the Messenger, so that they ask Allah for forgiveness in his presence and ask him to supplicate to Allah to forgive them. If they do this, Allah will forgive them and award them His mercy and pardon.

This is why Allah said,

لَوَجَدُواْ اللّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا



indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who forgives and accepts repentance), Most Merciful.
One Does not Become a Believer Unless He Refers to the Messenger for Judgment and Submits to his Decisions

Allah said