Tafseer of Jonas · Yunus · 10:41
And if they deny you, [O Muhammad], then say, "For me are my deeds, and for you are your deeds. You are disassociated from what I do, and I am disassociated from what you do."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the meaning of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَإِنْ كَذَّبُوكَ فَقُلْ لِي عَمَلِي وَلَكُمْ عَمَلُكُمْ أَنْتُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِمَّا أَعْمَلُ وَأَنَا بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ (And if they accuse you of lying, then say: for me is my deed and for you is your deed; you are free of what I do and I am free of what you do) [10:41]
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah the Exalted says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: And if these polytheists (mushrikīn) accuse you, O Muḥammad, of lying, and reject what you have brought them from your Lord, then say to them: O people, my religion and my deed are for me, and your religion and your deed are for you. Your deed does not harm me and my deed does not harm you; every doer is recompensed only for his own deed. أَنْتُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِمَّا أَعْمَلُ — you will not be called to account for the offense of it. وَأَنَا بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ — I will not be called to account for the offense of your deed. And this is like what Allah the Exalted said: قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ * لا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ * وَلا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ [Sūrat al-Kāfirūn: 1-3].
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It has also been said: this verse is abrogated (mansūkh); the jihād and the command to armed fighting (qitāl) abrogated it.
*Mention of who said that:*
17662 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the words of Allah: وَإِنْ كَذَّبُوكَ فَقُلْ لِي عَمَلِي وَلَكُمْ عَمَلُكُمْ — the verse —, he said: He was commanded to this, but afterwards it was abrogated and he was commanded to fight them.