Surah 7. Al-A'raf, Ayah 199

Lit., "accept what is easily forthcoming [from man's nature]". According to Zamakhshari, khudh al-'afw means: "Accept what comes easily to thee [or "what is willingly accorded to thee"] of the doings and the nature of men, and make things easy [for them], without causing them undue hardship (kulfah); and do not demand of them efforts that may be too difficult for them." This interpretation - which has been adopted by many other classical commentators as well - is based on the identical explanation of the phrase khudh al 'afw by 'Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr and his brother 'Urwah (Bukhari), as well as by 'A'ishah and, in the next generation, by Hisham ibn 'Urwah and Mujahid (see Tabari, Baghawi and Ibn Kathir). Thus, in accordance with the Qur'anic statements that "man has been created weak" 4:28 and that "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" ( 2:286 , 6:152 , 7:42 , 23:62 ), the believer is admonished to make due allowance for human nature and not to be too harsh with those who err. This admonition is the more remarkable as it follows immediately upon a discourse on the most unforgivable of all sins - the ascribing of divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything but God.

Lit., "the ignorant ones" - i.e., those who wilfully remain deaf to moral truths, and not those who are simply unaware of them.

Allah comforts the Prophet and directs his mind to three precepts: (1) to forgive injuries, insults, and persecution; (2) to continue to declare the faith that was in him, and not only to declare it, but to act up to it in all his dealings with friends and foes; (3) to pay no attention to ignorant fools, who raised doubts or difficulties, hurled taunts or reproaches, or devised plots to defeat the truth: they were to be ignored and passed by, not to be engaged in fights and fruitless controversies, or conciliated by compromises.