Surah 9:80
"Ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them. (Even) if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, God will not forgive them. That is because they have disbelieved in God and His messenger. God does not guide the wicked."
In this verse the disbelievers are beyond hope of forgiveness because they did not believe in “Allah and His messenger.” The belief required here is quite specific – not simply a general kind of religious faith (see the comment at 2.4). The theme of not asking for forgiveness for “disbelievers” continues in this sūra at verses 84 and 113–14.
- from The Quran with Christian Commentary: A Guide to Understanding the Scripture of Islam