Al Tawbah

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الْصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

104 . “Do they not know that Allah is He Who accepts the repentance from His servants and takes the alms and that Allah is He Who is Oft-Pardoning, Merciful?”

In view of the fact that some sinners, like the hypocrites concerning the Battle of Tabūk, urged the Prophet (pbuh) to accept their repentance, in this verse the Qur’ān points to this subject indicating that the acceptance of repentance is not something that the Prophet (S) does by himself. The verse says:

Allah not only accepts the repentances but also takes the alms or the charities which are given to Allah as the atonement of sins and for nearness to Him. The verse continues saying:

There is no doubt that the takers of alms and charities are either the Prophet (S) and the immaculate Imams (as), who are the leaders of the Muslims, or the needy and deserving persons. But, since the hands of the Prophet (S) and those of the true leaders and the hands of deserving persons are counted as the hand of Allah (s.w.t), it seems that Allah (s.w.t) takes these alms. In a tradition narrated from the Prophet (S), we recite: “Verily the alms will reach to the hand of Allah before it reaches to the beggar’s hand.” ²

Moreover, in an Islamic tradition, it has been announced that the angels receive all the deeds of man, except alms which directly reach to the hand of Allah. At the end of the verse, as an emphasis, the Qurān says:

From the content of this holy verse, it is so understood that the forgiveness of the faults and accepting the repentance is only up to Allah (s.w.t.). Thus, even the Prophet (S) is not rightful to accept repentances, much less are the monks and the authorities of churches. This rank belongs only to Allah (s.w.t.).