Transliteration:( Qaalooo awalam taku taateekum Rusulukum bilbaiyinaati qaaloo balaa' qaaloo fad'oo; wa maa du'aaa'ul kaafireena illaa fee dalaal (section 5) )
"They will say: 'Did not your Messengers bring to you clear signs?' They will reply: 'Yes'. They will again say: 'Then you yourselves pray [130]' And such praying of the infidels will only be in vain [131]."
When the keepers of Hell (the angels) are requested to intercede, they respond firmly and justly: “Did not the messengers come to you with clear signs?” This rhetorical question highlights the fact that every opportunity was already given—truth was presented, and guidance offered.
Upon the disbelievers’ admission of guilt, the angels refuse to intercede, instructing them instead: “Then you yourselves pray.” This shows that praying for forgiveness on behalf of disbelievers is prohibited—even angels refrain from such intercession.
It is then declared that any supplication by the disbelievers will be futile. In the Hereafter, the door of repentance is permanently shut, and no amount of pleading or prayer will alter their fate.
However, scholars note that in this world, some prayers of disbelievers may still be accepted if they pertain to worldly needs, as a temporary worldly test or mercy—but such mercy will not extend into the Hereafter for those who die upon disbelief.
The tafsir of Surah Muminun verse 50 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Muminun ayat 47 which provides the complete commentary from verse 47 through 50.
(40:50) The keepers of Hell will ask: “Did your Messengers not come to you with Clear Signs?” They will say: “Yes (they did).” The keepers of Hell will say: “Then you yourselves should call (upon the Lord). And the call of the unbelievers will end in vain.”[66]
66. That is, when the fact is this that the Messengers had come to you with the clear signs, and you have already been sentenced to suffer punishment here, because you had refused to believe in them, it is not possible for us to pray for you to Allah. For obviously there should be some plea for such a prayer, and you have exhausted every plea by your misconduct. So, you pray for yourselves if you so like, but we would tell you beforehand that the prayers of the people who had disbelieved in the world like you have been of no avail.
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