ان تعذبهم فانهم عبادك وان تغفر لهم فانك انت العزيز الحكيم

إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ ۖ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

This verse captures a beautiful truth about our relationship with Allah. Essentially, it says: "If You punish us, we are still Yours; but if You forgive us, it’s because You are powerful enough to be kind."

It reminds us that while we often mess up, we are never beyond His reach. Punishment is a right of a Master, but forgiveness is the choice of the Wise. He doesn't forgive because we deserve it, but because His greatness is bigger than our mistakes. It’s a call to replace fear with hope—knowing that no matter how far we wander, His door remains open.

This also encourages us to know Allah for who He is and always return back to Him

What has always intrigued me most about this powerful passage is the question: why does Jesus AS provide such a long response to a question that he knows very well that Allah SWT already knows the answer to? Surely Jesus AS didn't doubt that Allah SWT knew that he was innocent of the claims made against him that he called his followers to his own worship, so couldn't he simply answer with : 'No I did not'?

What I believe elicited such a long response is the fear caused by being questioned by Allah SWT on that day, even though he was being asked in the capacity of a witness and not a suspect. Usually when individual being asked is superior to the questioner, their response tends to be shorter as they have no need to explain themselves to an inferior, but in this case we have the exact opposite and hence the longer than expected response. What can be expected then of the condition of those who actually did invent this lie against Jesus AS?

And Allah SWT knows best.

Refleksi: Al-Ma'idah 5:118