Transliteration:( Innal laaha laa yaghfiru ai yushraka bihee wa yaghfiru maa doona zaalika limai yashaaa'; wa mai yushrik billaahi faqadif taraaa isman 'azeemaa )
"Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him [179], but He forgives [180] what is less than that for whom He wills. And whosoever associates partners with Allah has indeed forged a great sin [181]."
The term "polytheist" in this verse represents:
Non-believers, not just idol worshippers.
Anyone who denies the Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ is considered a non-believer,
even if they claim to believe in Allah’s Oneness.
As Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:221):
“And do not give your women in marriage to polytheists until they believe.”
From this, we learn:
A person who dies in disbelief will never be forgiven,
And it's prohibited to refer to a deceased non-believer with phrases like “May Allah have mercy”.
The Qur’an frequently uses "shirk" (polytheism) as a general term for disbelief.
This part confirms:
Every sin, no matter how great or small, can be forgiven by Allah
—except for shirk (associating partners with Him), if one dies in that state.
However, forgiveness differs based on:
Rights of Allah – can be forgiven by Allah directly,
Rights of people – must be forgiven by the person wronged.
Some sins may be pardoned by intercession, others through temporary punishment in Hell, depending on Allah’s will and justice.
In this context again:
Shirk refers to non-belief, whether by idol worship,
or by denying the Messenger ﷺ.
Every non-believer is thus guilty of committing a tremendous sin.
Historical Context:
According to Tafseer Roohul Bayaan, this verse and related ones were revealed in response to Hazrat Wahshi (RA)—
the one who had killed Hazrat Hamza (RA) and initially hesitated to embrace Islam due to the verse in Surah Furqan (25:68).
He wrote to the Prophet ﷺ expressing his fear, saying:
“I committed shirk and murdered a believer.”
In response, Allah revealed this verse to clarify that any sin—even murder or polytheism—can be forgiven if one accepts Islam before death.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 48 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 47 which provides the complete commentary from verse 47 through 48.
(4:48) Surely Allah does not forgive that a partner be ascribed to Him,[79] although He forgives any other sins for whomever He wills.[80] He who associates anyone with Allah in His divinity has indeed forged a mighty lie and committed an awesome sin.
79. Although the People of the Book claimed to follow the Prophets and the Divine Books they had, in fact, fallen a prey to polytheism.
80. The purpose of this verse is not to tell man that he may commit any sin as long as he does not associate others with God in His divinity. The object is rather to impress upon those who had begun to regard polytheism as a trivial matter that it constitutes the most serious offence in God’s sight, an offence so serious that while other sins may be pardoned this will not. Jewish religious scholars were meticulous about questions of subsidiary importance, and devoted all their time to pondering over legal subtleties which their jurists had painstakingly elaborated by far-fetched deductions. Yet they treated polytheism so lightly that they neither abstained from it themselves nor tried to prevent their people from falling a prey to polytheistic ideas and practices nor found anything objectionable in establishing cordial relations with the polytheists nor in supporting them.
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