َ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَى بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿۸﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿۹﴾

﴾8﴿ Yaaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo toobooo ilal laahi tawbatan nasoohan 'asaa rabbukum any-yukaffira 'ankum sayyi aatikum wa yudkhilakum jannaatin tajree min tahtihal anhaaru yawma laa yukhzil laahun nabiyya wallazeena aamanoo ma'ahoo nooruhum yas'aa baina aydeehim wa bi aymaanihim yaqooloona rabbanaaa atmim lanaa nooranaa waghfir lana innaka 'alaa kulli shai'in qadeer
﴾9﴿ Yaaa ayyuhan nabiyyu jaahidil kuffaara walmunaa-fiqeena waghluz 'alaihim; wa ma'waahum jahannamu wa bi'sal maseer

﴾8﴿ O believers! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance. It may be that your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, on the Day when Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will run before them and on their right, and they will say, 'Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent
﴾9﴿ O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh upon them. Their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination

[8] Since it was previously established that salvation from Allah’s punishment cannot be attained through excuses—only through sincere repentance—this verse now encourages repentance. Repenting is a personal obligation (farḍ ʿayn) in every state, especially when a sin has been committed.
(تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا)—“a sincere repentance.” The word naṣūḥ comes from naṣḥ, which means either: to cleanse from filth, in which case the meaning is sincerity and purity in repentance; or to stitch a garment, implying that the sinner has torn the bond with Allah through sin, and repentance is like sewing it back together. Ibn Kathīr preferred the second interpretation.
The best explanation of tawbah naṣūḥah is:
1. Immediately abandoning the sin,
2. Feeling remorse over the past,
3. Resolving never to return to it in the future,
4. And if it involved the right of another person, fulfilling or returning that right.
This interpretation is supported by other narrations, and the story of a person named “Naṣūḥ” is a fabricated tale that has no connection to this verse.
(لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ)—“Allah will not disgrace the Prophet”—this fits well with the previous verses of the surah. It means Allah will not humiliate His Prophet in this world; rather, He will support and honor him, as seen in the verse (فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلَاهُ). Likewise, He will not disgrace him in the Hereafter.
(وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا)—refers to those believers who supported and accompanied the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) in this world—similar to those described earlier as ṣāliḥ al-muʾminīn.
[9] This is the second address to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace). Its connection to the first address is that: O Prophet, do not focus on pleasing the creation and your wives—instead, call them to the truth and struggle against the disbelievers and hypocrites, for this is the greater priority.
Previously, the gentleness of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) toward the weak, such as women, was mentioned. Now, he is commanded to be firm with the evil people.
(جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ)—“Strive against the disbelievers and hypocrites”—jihad here is general, including fighting and all forms of effort and hardship for spreading and establishing the truth.
(وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ)—“And be firm with them”—this means to expose their evil traits, warn them, and apply the legal punishments of the Shariah upon them. These matters are not openly applied to the disbelievers, so the verse may also be interpreted as commanding firmness and strength in religion against both groups—through establishing proofs and issuing warnings of worldly and afterlife punishments.