Translation of the meanings Ayah 80 Surah At-Tawbah - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 80

ٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ أَوۡ لَا تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ إِن تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ سَبۡعِينَ مَرَّةٗ فَلَن يَغۡفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُمۡۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ كَفَرُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ

(80) ^[2183]Ask ˹Muhammad˺ for forgiveness for them, or do not ask for forgiveness for them; should you ask for forgiveness for them seventy times^[2184], Allah will not forgive them. That for their Denying of Allah and His Messenger; Allah guides not the ˹persistently˺ contravening people.

[2183] ʿUmar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه) narrated: “When ˹the head of the hypocrites˺ ʿAbdullāh Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salūl died, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was summoned to Pray for him. As the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up ˹for Prayer˺, I sprang to him and said: “Messenger of Allah, will you Pray over Ibn Ubayy, in spite of him saying so and so on the day of so and so!” I recounted to him (ﷺ) what he said ˹of many slanders˺. The Messenger (ﷺ) smiled and said: “Move away from me ʿUmar.” When I had argued a great deal with him, he said: “I was given a choice and I made my choice. Had I known that if I were to seek forgiveness for him more than seventy times he would be forgiven, I would have sought it more!” The Messenger (ﷺ) Prayed and then left. It was just a short while after that the two ayas in Barā’ah ˹i.e. al-Tawbah˺ came down: “Do not ever Pray ˹Muhammad˺ over anyone of them who dies … died while in a state of contravention”…” (al-Bukhārī: 1366).
[2184] The number 70 is not meant to give an exact number but is rather used to denote numerousness per se (cf. al-Zamakhsharī, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Khāzin, al-Muyassar, Tafsīr al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah): “It is all the same for them whether you ˹Muhammad˺ ask for forgiveness for them ˹the hypocrites˺ or do not ask for forgiveness for them, Allah will never forgive them; verily Allah guides not the contravening people” (63: 6).