Surah 9

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."
The Prohibition of asking for Forgiveness for Hypocrites Verses 9:80
Show Full Scripture Context (9:80) — 1 Verse
Verse 80

ٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ أَوۡ لَا تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ إِن تَسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ سَبۡعِينَ مَرَّةٗ فَلَن يَغۡفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُمۡۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ كَفَرُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ

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.

Quoted Scripture
"80. Whether you (O Muhammad) ask forgiveness for them (hypocrites) or ask not forgiveness for them - (and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness - Allah will not forgive them because they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger. And Allah guides not those people who are rebellious."

Allah says to His Prophet that hypocrites are not worthy of seeking forgiveness for them and that if he asks Allah to forgive them seventy times, Allah will not forgive them. The number seventy here was mentioned to close the door on this subject. for Arabs use this number when they exaggerate, not that they actually mean seventy or more than seventy. Ash-Shahi said that when 'Abdullah bin Ubayy was dying, his son went to the Prophet and said to him, "My father has died, I wish you could attend him and pray the funeral prayer for him." The Prophet said,
"What is you name?" He said, "Al-Hubab bin 'Abdullah." The Prophet said,
"Rather, you are 'Abdullah bin 'Abdullah, for Al-Hubab is a devil's name."
The Prophet went along with him, attended his father's funeral, gave him his shirt as a shroud and prayed the funeral prayer for him. He was asked, "Would you pray on him, when he is a hypocrite?" He said,
"Allah said, {...(and even) if you ask seventy times for their forgiveness...} Verily, I will ask Allah to forgive them seventy times and seventy more and seventy more."
Similar narrations were collected from 'Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, Mujahid, Qatadah bin Di'amah and Ibn Jarir.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 4, Page 484-485)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.