Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:281
And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.
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 exposition of the interpretation of the word of Allah the Exalted: وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ (And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be fully repaid for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged) (2:281)
Abū Jaʿfar says: and it has been said that this verse is likewise the last verse of the Qurʾān to be sent down.
Mention of who said this:
6311 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd al-Naḥwī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: the last verse that was sent down upon the Prophet ﷺ was "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah."
6312 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah..." — the whole verse — this is the last verse of the Book to be sent down.
6313 — Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to me, saying: Sahl ibn ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Mighwal related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya: he said: the last verse to be sent down was "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be fully repaid for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged."
6314 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of al-Suddī: he said: the last verse to be sent down was "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah."
6315 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — and Ḥajjāj, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: Ibn ʿAbbās said: the last verse of the Qurʾān to be sent down was "and fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be fully repaid for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged." Ibn Jurayj said: it is said that the Prophet ﷺ remained alive for nine nights thereafter; he fell ill on Saturday and passed away on Monday.
6316 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yūnus informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib related to me: that it had been transmitted to him that the most recent verse of the Qurʾān at the Throne is the verse of debt.
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah — exalted be His praise — means by this: be on your guard, O people — "against the Day when you will be returned to Allah" and you will meet Him therein — that you should return to Him with evil deeds that destroy you, or with disgraceful deeds that disgrace you, or with exposing deeds that put you to shame and tear away your covering, or with ruinous deeds that bring you to ruin and that make obligatory upon you a punishment from Allah which you cannot bear. It is a day of recompense for deeds — not a day of excuse, nor a day of withdrawal, repentance, and returning. It is a day of recompense, reward, and reckoning, on which every soul will be fully repaid its wage for what it has done and acquired of evil and good; no small nor great deed of good or evil will be left out therein or not brought forth, but rather its recompense will be fully paid in justice from its Lord — and they will not be wronged. How could anyone be wronged who is recompensed for evil with its equivalent and for good with tenfold? Nay, rather there is justice toward you, O evildoer, and there is generosity toward you and abundance, O doer of good. So let a person fear his Lord, and take his precaution against Him, and guard himself lest his day overtake him while his back is heavy with burdens and light in virtuous deeds — for He — mighty and majestic — has warned and completed His excuse, and has admonished in the most perfect manner.