اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ
Do as you wish.
This phrase appears in Qurʾān 41:40. Grammatically, it may look like unrestricted permission. In context, however, wrongdoers are being warned of consequences. Its rhetorical function is threat (tahdīd), not ordinary permissibility.
اعْمَلُوا: plural imperative, with the plural wāw as subject.
مَا: “whatever,” conveying the object of what they may do.
شِئْتُمْ: a perfect verb with a plural subject suffix, indicating what they choose.
Where accountability and punishment form the context, an apparently permissive command becomes a warning rather than true authorization.