عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنكَ لِمَ أَذِنتَ لَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَتَعْلَمَ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ
Important Words:
عفا اللّٰه عنك (Allah remove thy cares). عفا means, he or it effaced, erased or obliterated a trace, etc. They say عفا اللّٰه عنه i.e. may God efface from him his sin, fault, offence, etc. Sometimes the expression عفا الله عنك is used where no sin or fault has preceded and is not even conceivable. For instance, an Arab would say to one whom he holds in high esteem عفا اللّٰه عنكmeaning, may God set thy affairs aright and bring honour and glory to thee (Aqrab). See also 2:110; 2:188 & 2:220.
Commentary:
As shown under Important Words, the word عفو does not necessarily imply the committing of a sin on the part of a person about whom it is used, for it is also used for a person who has committed no sin and even for him who is incapable of committing a sin. In fact, the expression عفا اللّٰه عنك is sometimes used to express love or respect; and here it implies a desire that the Prophet may be relieved of his cares and difficulties.
The expression, Why didst thou permit them to stay behind, is intended to hint that the refusal on the part of the Holy Prophet to give them leave would have served the useful purpose of unmasking the hypocrisy of the hypocrites. Of those who remained behind, only about half came to the Holy Prophet to ask his leave, while the majority stayed behind without asking his permission and without explaining their inability to accompany him.
The Arabic expression ‘Afallahu ‘Anka signifies no forgiveness of any sin having been committed by the Holy Prophet, rather it expresses Divine love and solicitude for him.