Surah An-Nahl 16:119

Some Good Things were Forbidden for the Jews

After mentioning that He has forbidden us to eat dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and any animal which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, and after making allowances for cases of necessity - which is part of making things easy for this Ummah, because Allah desires ease for us, not hardship - Allah then mentions what He forbade for the Jews in their laws before they were abrogated, and the restrictions, limitations and difficulties involved therein. He tells us:

(And for those who are Jews, We have forbidden such things as We have mentioned to you before.) meaning in Surat Al-An`am, where Allah says:

(And unto those who are Jews, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep except what adheres to their backs) Until,

(We are indeed truthful) 6:146 Hence Allah says here:

(And We did not wrong them,) meaning, in the restrictions that We imposed upon them.

(but they wronged themselves. ) meaning, they deserved that. This is like the Ayah:

(Because of the wrong committed of those who were Jews, We prohibited certain good foods which had been lawful for them - and (also) for their hindering many from Allah's way.) (4:160) Then Allah tells us, honoring and remin- ding believers who have sinned of His blessings, that who- ever among them repents, He will accept his repentance, as He says:

(Then, your Lord for those who did evil out of ignorance) Some of the Salaf said that this means that everyone who disobeys Allah is ignorant.

(and afterward repent and do righteous deeds) meaning, they give up the sins they used to commit and turn to doing acts of obedience to Allah.

(verily, after that, your Lord is...) means, after that mistake

(...Pardoning, Most Merciful.)

Kemudian Allah menjelaskan kebesaran rahmat dan kasih sayang kepada hamba-Nya dengan memberi pengampunan bagi yang melakukan kejahatan pada umumnya, baik kejahatan berbuat nista kepada Allah maupun tindakan kejahatan dan maksiat lainnya. Akan tetapi, Allah swt mengaitkan beberapa ketentuan untuk memperoleh kasih dan pengampunan-Nya itu, seperti:

Pertama: Orang yang melakukan kejahatan karena kejahilan atau ketidaktahuannya terhadap hukum-hukum agama. Dia tidak tahu bahwa yang dilakukannya itu menyalahi perintah agama di samping memberi kemudaratan bagi dirinya sendiri.

Kedua: Timbul dalam dirinya rasa penyesalan yang mendalam sesudah melakukan kejahatan lalu mengucapkan istigfar dan segera bertobat kepada Allah swt. Tobat tidak boleh ditunda-tunda sesudah dia menyadari kesalahannya, karena hal demikian merusak iman dan jiwanya.

Firman Allah swt:

Sesungguhnya bertobat kepada Allah itu hanya (pantas) bagi mereka yang melakukan kejahatan karena tidak mengerti, kemudian segera bertobat. Tobat mereka itulah yang diterima Allah. Allah Maha Mengetahui, Mahabijaksana. (an-Nisa'/4: 17)

Ketiga: Melakukan amal saleh dan menjauhi larangan Allah sebagai bukti dari penyesalannya. Dengan niat yang kuat dan hati yang tegar berjanji tidak lagi mengulangi kejahatan yang pernah dilakukan serta bertekad untuk taat kepada Allah swt.

Firman Allah swt:

Dan barang siapa bertobat dan mengerjakan kebajikan, maka sesungguhnya dia bertobat kepada Allah dengan tobat yang sebenar-benarnya. (al-Furqan/25: 71)