Surah Ali 'Imran (The Family of Imran — آل عمران) (Ayah 196)

Mentioned in verses previous to this were some prayers made by good believers.

The first Verse Ali 'Imran 3:195 ^⧉ appearing above reports that these prayers have been accepted and believers have been given the good news that great rewards have been marked for their good deeds. In the second and third Verses Ali 'Imran 3: 196^⧉ 197^⧉, Muslims have been instructed not to be deceived by the apparent affluence and worldwide maneuvering of disbelievers for this is transitory and the punishment which follows in its wake is eternal.

The fourth Verse Ali 'Imran 3:198 ^⧉ reasserts the promise of the lasting blessings of Paradise for Muslims who always keep fearing Allah.

The fifth Verse Ali 'Imran 3:199 ^⧉ particularly mentions the great reward that awaits those Muslims who used to be from among the People of the Book but chose to embrace Islam as their faith.

Commentary

While explaining the statement لَأُكَفِّرَ‌نَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ (I shall certainly write off their evil deeds) in Verse Ali 'Imran 3:195 ^⧉ , Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi (رح) has restricted it to the forgiveness of sins and shortcomings relating to the fulfillment of the rights of Allah. The reason is that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said in Hadith that debts are not included under the purview of this verse. The rule is that the person concerned or his heirs should pay off the debt or have it forgiven. There is no other alternative in this case unless Allah Almighty is especially generous for someone and puts it in the heart of the wronged party that they should relent and forgive. This would, then, be a different matter. In fact, with some, this would also be the case.

So, let us keep in mind that all sins are forgiven following Hijrah (Emigration) and Shahadah (Surrendering life in the way of Allah, martyrdom) but the forgiveness of debts and other rights of people (Huququl-` Ibad) has not been promised.