Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy.
“Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy.”
When those who accept My signs that indicate the truth of what you have brought come to you, O Messenger, then reply to their greeting of peace in honour of them and tell them the good news of My mercy. I have gracefully made mercy obligatory on Myself.
The plain meaning, from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir
وَإِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ ۖ أَنَّهُۥ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوٓءًۢا بِجَهَٰلَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And when those come to you who believe in Our verses, say, "Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself - indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful."
What does Quran 6:54 mean?
The verse begins with an instruction about manners: when those who believe in Our signs come to you, greet them with peace. Then comes this — and the wording is unusual, because it describes Allah binding Himself. The commentators note that mercy here is something He wrote upon Himself, by His own grace, and the rest of the verse spells out who it reaches: whoever sins in ignorance, then repents and puts things right.
Written from Al-Mukhtasar fi at-Tafsir