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Surah 40 · Makkah · 85 āyāt

Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timeline

GhāfirThe Forgiver

غافر

Revealed 60th. The first of the seven Ḥawāmīm. It opens with the names of the One being disputed about — Forgiver of sin, Accepter of repentance, Severe in punishment — and shows the Throne-bearing angels asking forgiveness for the believers on earth. Its centre is the longest speech given in the Qurʾān to an ordinary believer: a man of Firʿawn's own family who concealed his faith and then argued for the life of Mūsā in open court. The surah closes with the promise that supplication is answered and that faith declared only when the punishment is seen is never accepted.

Why it was revealed

Makkah after the boycott, when the leadership's argument against the Qurʾān had become pure obstinacy and individual believers with tribal standing were weighing whether to speak up.

Drawn fromBukhārī 3856; Al-Qurṭubī on 40:4 and 40:56; Ibn Kathīr on 40:28; Ibn Kathīr on 40:28–45

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ؓ narrated that the Companions asked about the most severe thing the mushrikūn did to the Prophet ﷺ; ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ strangled him with a cloth while he prayed, and Abū Bakr ؓ pushed him away saying: do you kill a man for saying my Lord is Allah? — the words of the believer of Firʿawn's family in this surah.

Cited toBukhārī 3856; Ibn Kathīr on 40:28

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

GuidanceEarly Makkan period · Age About 43 · The Kaʿbah, Makkah

Abū Bakr ؓ defends the Prophet ﷺ at the Kaʿbah

When ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ throttled the Prophet ﷺ in prayer, Abū Bakr ؓ intervened quoting the argument of the concealed believer: do you kill a man for saying my Lord is Allah?

Recalled in āyah 28

وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مُّؤْمِنٌ مِّنْ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَـٰنَهُۥٓ أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلًا أَن يَقُولَ رَبِّىَ ٱللَّهُ وَقَدْ جَآءَكُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَكُ كَـٰذِبًا فَعَلَيْهِ كَذِبُهُۥ ۖ وَإِن يَكُ صَادِقًا يُصِبْكُم بَعْضُ ٱلَّذِى يَعِدُكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ

And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Do you kill a man [merely] because he says, 'My Lord is Allāh' while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And if he should be lying, then upon him is [the consequence of] his lie; but if he should be truthful, there will strike you some of what he promises you. Indeed, Allāh does not guide one who is a transgressor and a liar.

Cited toBukhārī 3856

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–9

The names of the Disputed-about, and the angels who ask for you

The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing — Forgiver of sin, Accepter of repentance, Severe in punishment, Owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the destination. Those who carry the Throne and those around it exalt their Lord with praise and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed: our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your way.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 40:7; Al-Saʿdī on 40:7; Ibn Kathīr on 40:3

3

غَافِرِ ٱلذَّنۢبِ وَقَابِلِ ٱلتَّوْبِ شَدِيدِ ٱلْعِقَابِ ذِى ٱلطَّوْلِ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ إِلَيْهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment, owner of abundance. There is no deity except Him; to Him is the destination.

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From the tafsīr

Four descriptions are placed together — forgiveness, acceptance of repentance, severity in punishment, and abundance — so that hope and fear are held in the same breath from the opening of the surah.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 40:3

The angels' supplication begins by placing mercy before knowledge — 'You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge' — and asks only for those who repent and follow the way.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 40:7

This āyah is cited as evidence that the believers are prayed for by creatures they have never seen, which is itself a form of unseen provision.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 40:7

Key takeaways

Reflect

Write the four opening descriptions of Allah in 40:3 from memory tonight.

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Question 1 of 2

Which four descriptions open Sūrat Ghāfir in 40:3?

Question 2 of 2

Who is described in 40:7 as asking forgiveness for the believers?

THEME 02Āyāt 23–46

The believer of Firʿawn's family speaks

And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said: do you kill a man because he says my Lord is Allah, while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And he who believed said: O my people, follow me, I will guide you to the way of right conduct. And you will remember what I say to you, and I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed Allah is Seeing of His servants. So Allah protected him from the evils they plotted, and the people of Pharaoh were enveloped by the worst of punishment.

Drawn fromBukhārī 3856; Al-Saʿdī on 40:44; Ibn Kathīr on 40:28

28

وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مُّؤْمِنٌ مِّنْ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَكْتُمُ إِيمَـٰنَهُۥٓ أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلًا أَن يَقُولَ رَبِّىَ ٱللَّهُ وَقَدْ جَآءَكُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَكُ كَـٰذِبًا فَعَلَيْهِ كَذِبُهُۥ ۖ وَإِن يَكُ صَادِقًا يُصِبْكُم بَعْضُ ٱلَّذِى يَعِدُكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Do you kill a man [merely] because he says, 'My Lord is Allāh' while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And if he should be lying, then upon him is [the consequence of] his lie; but if he should be truthful, there will strike you some of what he promises you. Indeed, Allāh does not guide one who is a transgressor and a liar.

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44

فَسَتَذْكُرُونَ مَآ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ ۚ وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِىٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَصِيرٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ

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And you will remember what I [now] say to you, and I entrust my affair to Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is Seeing of [His] servants."

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From the tafsīr

The man was of Firʿawn's own household and had concealed his faith; the surah records his speech at length precisely because it was delivered at the moment of maximum risk, not in safety.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 40:28

Abū Bakr ؓ used this very argument at the Kaʿbah when ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ was strangling the Prophet ﷺ, showing the Companions took the āyah as a live script, not history.

Cited toBukhārī 3856

'I entrust my affair to Allah' is said after he has spoken, not instead of speaking — tawakkul is placed after the action, not in place of it.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 40:44

Key takeaways

Reflect

What is one truth you are currently well placed to say that nobody else can say?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Who is the speaker in 40:28?

Question 2 of 2

Which Companion used this argument at the Kaʿbah?

THEME 03Āyāt 47–68

Call upon Me and I will respond

And your Lord says: call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation. He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him, so call upon Him, sincere to Him in religion. Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Drawn fromTirmidhī 3247, graded ḥasan; Al-Saʿdī on 40:65; Ibn Kathīr on 40:60

60

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

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And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.

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From the tafsīr

Duʿāʾ here is understood by the mufassirūn both as asking and as worship itself, since the āyah answers those who are too proud to worship.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 40:60

The Prophet ﷺ said supplication is worship, and then recited this āyah.

Cited toTirmidhī 3247, graded ḥasan

The command to call upon Him is immediately qualified by sincerity, joining the surah's opening theme to its closing one.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 40:65

Key takeaways

Reflect

What have you stopped asking Allah for because you decided it was unlikely?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What did the Prophet ﷺ recite after saying 'supplication is worship'?

Question 2 of 2

How does 40:60 describe those who refuse to call upon Allah?

THEME 04Āyāt 69–85

Faith at the sight of punishment is not accepted

And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign except by permission of Allah. So when they saw Our punishment, they said: we believe in Allah alone and disbelieve in that which we used to associate with Him. But their faith did not benefit them when they saw Our punishment — the established way of Allah which has preceded among His servants, and the disbelievers thereupon lost all.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 40:84; Al-Saʿdī on 40:78; Ibn Kathīr on 40:85

From the tafsīr

This is called the sunnah of Allah — an unchanging pattern: belief declared once the punishment is visible is not accepted, as with Firʿawn at the sea.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 40:85

The declaration they make is verbally perfect — belief in Allah alone and rejection of partners — and is still refused, because its timing has removed the element of the unseen.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 40:84

Signs come by Allah's permission, not on demand; the demand for a miracle is answered by pointing to the pattern of nations who were given one.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 40:78

Key takeaways

Reflect

What are you delaying that you would do immediately if you saw the consequence?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

Why did their declaration of faith in 40:84 not benefit them?

Question 2 of 2

What term does 40:85 use for this rule?

FROM CLASS

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

غ ف ر

āyāt 3, 7, 55

to cover a fault and forgive it

  • غَافِرforgiver
  • غَفُورmost forgiving
  • اسْتَغْفَرَhe sought forgiveness

ت و ب

āyāt 3, 7

to turn back — used of the servant returning and of Allah accepting

  • تَوْبَةrepentance
  • تَوَّابever-accepting of repentance
  • تَابَhe turned back

ك ب ر

āyāt 35, 56, 60

to be great — and, of people, to swell with arrogance

  • كِبْرarrogance
  • اسْتَكْبَرَhe was too proud
  • مُتَكَبِّرthe arrogant

د ع و

āyāt 14, 43, 60

to call upon, to invite

  • دُعَاءsupplication
  • دَاعِيone who calls
  • ادْعُواcall upon

ف و ض

āyāt 44

to hand a matter over entirely

  • فَوَّضَhe entrusted
  • تَفْوِيضentrusting the affair

Carry this with you

  • Hope and fear are set side by side in the surah's opening names.
  • The Throne-bearing angels ask forgiveness for believers they have never met.
  • A believer may conceal his faith under threat — and is honoured for speaking when it counts.
  • 'Do you kill a man for saying my Lord is Allah?' became a live argument in Makkah, not just a story.
  • Reliance on Allah comes after you act, not instead of acting.
  • Supplication is itself worship; refusing to ask is arrogance.
  • Every call on Allah must carry the same sincerity as every other act of worship.
  • Signs are given by permission, never on the demand of the sceptic.
  • Faith declared at the sight of punishment is never accepted — an unchanging pattern.
  • Arrogance in the breast is described as something that will never be fulfilled.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The signs you already walk on2 movementsRefuge, protection and the unseen harm1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Ghāfir

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Ghāfir — full exam

1 / 8 · 0 correct

8 questions across 4 themes.

Ghāfir · Faith at the sight of punishment is not accepted

What term does 40:85 use for this rule?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol