Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:123
Paradise is not [obtained] by your wishful thinking nor by that of the People of the Scripture. Whoever does a wrong will be recompensed for it, and he will not find besides Allah a protector or a helper.
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 words of Allah: لَيْسَ بِأَمَانِيِّكُمْ وَلا أَمَانِيِّ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ ("It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book") (4:123).
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: The scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning who is meant by His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book."
Some said: by His words "not according to your wishes" the people of Islam are meant.
*Mention of who said that:
10490 – Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: The Christians and the people of Islam boasted against one another. These said: "We are more excellent than you!" and those said: "We are more excellent than you!" He said: Then Allah revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book."
10491 – Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: When it was revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," the People of the Book said: "We and you are equal!" Then this verse was revealed: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ ("And whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer...").
10492 – Abū al-Sāʾib and Ibn Wakīʿ related to me, they said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Masrūq, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," he said: The Muslims and the People of the Book disputed with one another. The Muslims said: "We are better guided than you!" and the People of the Book said: "We are better guided than you!" Then Allah revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book." He said: Then the Muslims prevailed over them with this verse: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ ("And whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer..."), to the end of the two verses.
10493 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: It was related to us that the Muslims and the People of the Book boasted against one another. The People of the Book said: "Our prophet is before your prophet, and our book is before your book, and we are closer to Allah than you!" And the Muslims said: "We are closer to Allah than you; our prophet is the seal of the prophets, and our book passes judgment over the books that were before it!" Then Allah revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," up to His words: وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا ("And who has a better religion than he who submits his face to Allah while doing good and follows the religion of Ibrāhīm, as a ḥanīf?"). Thus Allah made the proof of the Muslims triumph over those who opposed them among the people of the religions.
10494 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: A group of the Jews and the Christians came together. The Jews said to the Muslims: "We are better than you; our religion is before your religion, and our book is before your book, and our prophet is before your prophet, and we follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, and none shall enter Paradise except whoever is a Jew!" And the Christians said something similar. Then the Muslims said: "Our book is after your book, and our prophet is after your prophet, and you have been commanded to follow us and to abandon your affair, so we are better than you; we follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, Ismāʿīl and Isḥāq, and none shall enter Paradise except whoever adheres to our religion!" Then Allah refuted their statement and said: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." Then Allah raised the believers above them and said: وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا ("And who has a better religion than he who submits his face to Allah while doing good and follows the religion of Ibrāhīm, as a ḥanīf?").
10495 – It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it": The people of the religions disputed. The people of the Torah said: "Our book is the first book and the best of them, and our prophet is the best of the prophets!" And the people of the Gospel said something similar. And the people of Islam said: "There is no religion except the religion of Islam, and our book has abrogated every [other] book, and our prophet is the seal of the prophets, and we have been commanded to act according to our book and to believe in your book!" Then Allah passed judgment among them and said: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." Then He distinguished between the people of the religions and gave preference to the people of excellence and said: وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ ("And who has a better religion than he who submits his face to Allah while doing good"), up to His words: وَاتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلا ("And Allah took Ibrāhīm as a friend").
10496 – 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, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," up to: وَلا نَصِيرًا ("nor a helper"): The people of the religions brought their dispute forward [for adjudication]. The people of the Torah said: "Our book is the best of books, it was revealed before your book, and our prophet is the best of the prophets!" And the people of the Gospel said something similar. And the people of Islam said: "There is no religion except Islam, our book has abrogated every [other] book, and our prophet is the seal of the prophets, and you and we have been commanded to believe in your book and to act according to our book!" Then Allah passed judgment among them and said: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." And He distinguished between the people of the religions and said: وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ دِينًا مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ وَاتَّبَعَ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَاتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلا ("And who has a better religion than he who submits his face to Allah while doing good and follows the religion of Ibrāhīm, as a ḥanīf; and Allah took Ibrāhīm as a friend").
10497 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Yaʿlā ibn ʿUbayd and Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, who said: People of the Torah, of the Gospel, and of the faith were sitting together. These said: "We are more excellent!" and those said: "We are more excellent!" Then Allah revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." Then Allah set apart the people of the faith and said: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ ("And whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer").
10498 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, who said: The people of the Torah, the people of the Gospel, and the people of the Zabūr were sitting together and boasting against one another. These said: "We are more excellent!" and those said: "We are more excellent!" and those [third] said: "We are more excellent!" Then Allah revealed: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلا يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا ("And whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer – they are the ones who enter Paradise, and they will not be wronged a whit").
10499 – Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," he said: The people of the religions boasted against one another. The Jews said: "Our book is the best of books and the most noble before Allah, and our prophet is the most noble of the prophets before Allah; Allah spoke to Mūsā face to face and held a confidential converse with him, and our religion is the best of religions!" And the Christians said: "ʿĪsā the son of Maryam is the seal of the messengers, and Allah gave him the Torah and the Gospel, and had Mūsā lived to see him, he would have followed him, and our religion is the best of religions!" And the Magians (al-majūs) and the disbelievers among the Arabs said: "Our religion is the oldest of religions and the best of them!" And the Muslims said: "Muḥammad, our prophet, is the seal of the prophets and the master of the prophets, and the Furqān is the last of the books to be sent down from Allah, and it is the trustworthy guardian over every book, and Islam is the best of religions!" Then Allah distinguished between them and said: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book."
And others said: Rather, by His words "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," Allah meant the polytheists (ahl al-shirk), the idolaters.
*Mention of who said that:
10500 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," he said: [They are] the Quraysh, who said: "We shall not be resurrected and we shall not be punished."
10501 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "It is not according to your wishes," he said: The Quraysh said: "We shall not be resurrected and we shall not be punished." Then Allah revealed: مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ ("Whoever does evil shall be requited for it").
10502 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Najīḥ related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: The Arabs said: "We shall not be resurrected and we shall not be punished," and the Jews and the Christians said: لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى ("None shall enter Paradise except whoever is a Jew or a Christian") [Surah Al-Baqarah: 111], or they said: لَنْ تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلا أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَةً ("The Fire will not touch us except for a few numbered days") [Surah Al-Baqarah: 80] – Abū Bishr was uncertain.
10503 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," [these are] the Quraysh and Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf = مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ ("Whoever does evil shall be requited for it").
10504 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I heard Ibn Zayd say concerning His words: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ ("Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book"), to the end of the verse, he said: Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab came to the polytheists, and they said to him: "O Ḥuyayy, you are people of scriptures, so are we better, or Muḥammad and his companions?" He said: "We and you are better than him!" That is His words: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ ("Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book"), up to His words: وَمَنْ يَلْعَنِ اللَّهُ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ نَصِيرًا ("And whomever Allah curses, you will find for him no helper") [Surah An-Nisāʾ: 51, 52]. Then He said to the polytheists: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," and he [Ibn Zayd] recited until he came to: وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ ("And whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer"), [these are] the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions = فَأُولَئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلا يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا ("they are the ones who enter Paradise, and they will not be wronged a whit"). He said: And Allah promised the believers that He would efface their sins for them, but He did not promise that to those others, and he recited: وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ("And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We shall surely efface their evil deeds for them and shall surely reward them according to the best of what they used to do") [Surah Al-ʿAnkabūt: 7].
10505 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: The Quraysh said: "We shall not be resurrected and we shall not be punished!"
* * *
And others said: By that the People of the Book specifically are meant.
*Mention of who said that:
10506 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book," the verse, he said: It was revealed concerning the People of the Book when they opposed the Prophet ﷺ.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: The correct of the two interpretations herein is what Mujāhid said: that by His words "It is not according to your wishes" the polytheists of the Quraysh are meant.
We say that this is the most correct, because the wishes of the Muslims were not mentioned in any of the preceding verses before His words "It is not according to your wishes"; what was mentioned was the mention of the wishes belonging to the appointed share of Satan, and that is in His words: وَلأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الأَنْعَامِ ("And I shall surely give them wishes and shall surely command them, so that they will slit the ears of the cattle"), and in His words: "He makes them promises and gives them wishes." Connecting the meaning of His words, exalted is His praise: "It is not according to your wishes" with what has already been mentioned before is more sound and more correct than claiming an interpretation for it for which there is no indication in the apparent wording of the Revelation, nor any report from the Messenger ﷺ, nor any consensus of the scholars of interpretation.
And since that is so, the interpretation of the verse is therefore: The matter is not according to your wishes, O assembly of allies of Satan and his party, which your ally – the enemy of Allah – gives you, namely that you be saved from whoever wishes you harm, and helped against him and prevail over him = nor the wishes of the People of the Book, who out of delusion concerning Allah and His forbearance toward them said: لَنْ تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلا أَيَّامًا مَعْدُودَةً ("The Fire will not touch us except for a few numbered days") and لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى ("None shall enter Paradise except whoever is a Jew or a Christian"). For Allah will requite everyone of you who acts according to the requital of his deed: whoever of you does evil – or of others besides you – shall be requited for it, and shall find for himself no protector and no helper besides Allah; and whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, while being a believer – they are the ones who enter Paradise.
And what also indicates the correctness of what we say as interpretation herein, namely that by His words "It is not according to your wishes" the polytheists among the Arabs are meant, as Mujāhid said, is that Allah described the promise of Satan – what he promised his allies – and mentioned the nature of his promise, and then followed that with the description of His own truthful promise with His words: وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقًّا ("And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We shall admit them into gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever and ever; a promise of Allah, in truth"). And exalted is His praise, He mentioned, together with His description of the promise of Satan to his allies, the giving of wishes to them, with His words: يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ ("He makes them promises and gives them wishes"), just as He mentioned His promise to them. The most fitting, therefore, is that He should follow His giving of wishes to them with a description like that with which He followed His promise to them.
And since that is so, it is correct that His words: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," the verse, are nothing other than a report from Allah concerning the wishes of the allies of Satan, and to what their wishes lead = together with the evil requital for their evil deeds, and to what the deeds of the allies of Allah lead, namely the good requital. Exalted is His praise: He added the People of the Book to the polytheists in His words "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book" only because the wishes of both groups belong to the giving of wishes by Satan which he promised he would give them with his words: وَلأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلآمُرَنَّهُمْ ("And I shall surely lead them astray and shall surely give them wishes and shall surely command them").
The explanation of the words of Allah: مَنْ يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا يُجْزَ بِهِ ("Whoever does evil shall be requited for it").
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: The scholars of interpretation differed concerning the interpretation of that.
Some said: by "the evil" (al-sūʾ) every disobedience to Allah is meant. And they said: the meaning of the verse is: whoever commits a small or great [sin] of the disobediences to Allah, believer or disbeliever, Allah will requite him for it.
*Mention of who said that:
10507 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: that al-Rabīʿ ibn Ziyād asked Ubayy ibn Kaʿb about this verse: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it." He said: "I thought you were better versed than I now see you to be! [It is] the stubbing [against a stone], the recurring [misfortune], and the scratch."
10508 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ghundar related to us, on the authority of Hishām al-Dastawāʾī, he said: Qatāda related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Ziyād, who said: I said to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb: "[Concerning] the words of Allah, blessed and exalted is He: 'Whoever does evil shall be requited for it' – by Allah, if we are requited for everything we do, we are ruined!" He said: "By Allah, I truly thought you were better versed than I now see you to be! A man is not afflicted by any scratch or stumble except on account of a sin, and what Allah pardons is more – down to even the [insect] bite and the kick [of an animal]."
10509 – Al-Qāsim ibn Bishr ibn Maʿrūf related to us, saying: Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of Ḥajjāj al-Ṣawwāf, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, on the authority of Abū al-Muhallab, who said: I entered upon ʿĀʾisha to ask her about this verse: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." She said: "That is what afflicts you in this worldly life."
10510 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Khālid informed me: that he heard Mujāhid say concerning His words: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: he will be requited for it in this worldly life. He [Khālid] said: I said: "And how far do the calamities reach?" He said: "Whatever befalls you."
* * *
And others said: the meaning of that is: whoever of the people of disbelief does evil, shall be requited for it.
*Mention of who said that:
10511 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: [That is] the disbeliever. Then he recited: وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ("And do We requite any but the most ungrateful?") [Surah Sabaʾ: 17]. He said: of the disbelievers.
10512 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, something similar.
10513 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Hammām al-Ahwāzī related to us, on the authority of Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that he used to say: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," and وَهَلْ نُجَازِي إِلا الْكَفُورَ ("And do We requite any but the most ungrateful?") [Surah Sabaʾ: 17] – by that the disbelievers are meant, and by that the people of the prayer (ahl al-ṣalāh) are not meant.
10514 – Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Mubārak related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His words: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: By Allah, Allah has not requited a servant for both the good and the evil except that He punished him. He said: لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُوا بِمَا عَمِلُوا وَيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا بِالْحُسْنَى ("That He may requite those who did evil according to what they did, and requite those who did good with the best") [Surah An-Najm: 31]. He said: Indeed, by Allah, they had sins, but He pardoned them for them and did not requite them for them; indeed, Allah does not requite His believing servant for a sin, for then his sins would destroy him.
10515 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I heard Ibn Zayd say concerning His words: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: Allah promised the believers that He would efface their evil deeds for them, but He did not promise that to those others = he means: the polytheists.
10516 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: That applies only to whom Allah wishes humiliation; but whom He wishes honor, he is of the people of Paradise: وَعْدَ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِي كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ ("the true promise which they were promised") [Surah Al-Aḥqāf: 16].
10517 – Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," by that He means: the Jews, the Christians, the Magians, and the disbelievers among the Arabs = وَلا يَجِدُونَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصِيرًا ("and they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or helper").
* * *
And others said: the meaning of "the evil" (al-sūʾ) in this place is: shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah). They said: and the interpretation of His words "whoever does evil shall be requited for it" is: whoever ascribes partners to Allah shall be requited for his shirk = وَلا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصِيرًا ("and he will not find for himself besides Allah any protector or helper").
*Mention of who said that:
10518 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he says: whoever ascribes partners shall be requited for it = and that is "the evil" = وَلا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصِيرًا ("and he will not find for himself besides Allah any protector or helper"), unless he repents before his death, whereupon Allah turns [in mercy] to him.
10519 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," he said: [that is] the shirk.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: The correct of the interpretations that we have mentioned concerning the interpretation of the verse is the interpretation that we related from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and ʿĀʾisha: namely that everyone who does evil, small or great, believer or disbeliever, is requited for it.
We say that this is the most correct as an interpretation of the verse because of the generality of the verse, [which] includes everyone who does evil, without anyone being excepted or singled out. It [the verse] thus remains in its generality, since there is in the verse no indication for restricting it, nor has any binding proof been adduced for that from a report of the Messenger ﷺ.
* * *
Should someone say: How does that relate to the words of Allah: إِنْ تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ ("If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We shall efface your evil deeds for you") [Surah An-Nisāʾ: 31]? And how can it be permissible that He requites for that whose effacement He has already promised?
The answer is: By His words نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ ("We shall efface your evil deeds for you") He did not promise the omission of requital for them; rather, He promised the effacement by sparing [them] the disgrace over it before the people of it at their return [on the Day of Resurrection], as He disgraces the polytheists and the hypocrites. As for the case that He requites them for it in this worldly life with calamities, in order that He may efface those [sins] by it, so that they meet Him without having a sin for which they deserve requital – then He has indeed fulfilled for them what He promised them with His words نُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ ("We shall efface your evil deeds for you"), and carried out for them what He pledged to them with His words: وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ ("And those who believe and do righteous deeds – We shall admit them into gardens beneath which rivers flow") [Surah An-Nisāʾ: 122].
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said herein, the reports from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are numerous.
Mention of the reports that have been related with that:
10520 – Abū Kurayb and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ and Naṣr ibn ʿAlī and ʿAbdallāh ibn Abī Ziyād al-Qaṭawānī related to us, they said: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Muḥayṣin, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Qays ibn Makhrama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: When this verse was revealed: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," it weighed heavily upon the Muslims, and it reached among them what Allah willed that it should reach, and they complained about it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said: "Strive for the right middle course and act correctly; in everything that afflicts the Muslim there is an expiation (kaffāra), down to even the stubbing [against a stone] that afflicts him or the thorn on which he pricks himself."
10521 – ʿAbdallāh ibn Abī Ziyād and Aḥmad ibn Manṣūr al-Ramādī related to me, they said: Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ḥārithī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Zayd ibn Qunfudh related to us, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, on the authority of Abū Bakr, who said: When it was revealed: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, are we held to account for everything we do?" He said: "O Abū Bakr, are you not afflicted by this and that? That is the expiation for it."
10522 – Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ziyād al-Jaṣṣāṣ, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Zayd, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUmar related to me: that he heard Abū Bakr say: I heard the Prophet ﷺ say: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it" – in this worldly life.
10523 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Zuhayr, on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq: that he said: "O prophet of Allah, how is uprightness possible after this verse?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Which verse?" He said: "Allah says: 'It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it.' Are we then requited for everything we do?" The Prophet ﷺ said: "May Allah forgive you, O Abū Bakr! Do you not fall ill? Are you not grieved? Are you not afflicted by adversity?" He said: "That, then, is what you are requited with!"
10524 – Yūnus related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid = he said: I suspect [it was] on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Thaqafī, on the authority of Abū Bakr, who said: When this verse was revealed: "Whoever does evil shall be requited for it," Abū Bakr said: "How is uprightness possible?" = then he mentioned something similar, except that he added: "Are you not [in your foot] stubbed?"
10525 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid related to us, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Zuhayr: that Abū Bakr said to the Prophet ﷺ: "How is uprightness possible?" – and he mentioned something similar.
10526 – Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd al-Muḥāribī related to me, saying: Abū Mālik al-Janbī related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Zuhayr al-Thaqafī, he said: Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah," – and he mentioned something similar – except that he said: "are we then requited for every evil we do?" And he also said: "Do you not fall ill? Are you not wearied? Are you not grieved? Are you not afflicted by adversity?" He said: "Yes indeed." He said: "That is what you are requited with!"
10527 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Zuhayr al-Thaqafī, he said: When this verse was revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, are we then requited for everything we do?" He said: "O Abū Bakr, are you not wearied? Are you not grieved? Are you not afflicted by adversity? That is of what you are requited with."
10528 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Khālid related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Zuhayr al-Thaqafī related to me, on the authority of Abū Bakr – and he mentioned something similar.
10529 – Abū al-Sāʾib and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, who said: Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, how severe is this verse: 'Whoever does evil shall be requited for it'!" He said: "O Abū Bakr, indeed, the calamity in this worldly life is a requital."
10530 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Rawḥ ibn ʿUbāda related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir al-Khazzāz related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said: I said: "I know which verse in the Book of Allah is the severest." Then the Prophet ﷺ said to me: "Which verse?" I said: "'Whoever does evil shall be requited for it'!" He said: "Indeed, the believer is requited for his worst deed in this worldly life." Then he mentioned several things, among them illness and weariness, and lastly he mentioned the stubbing [against a stone]. He said: "Everyone is requited for his deed, O ʿĀʾisha; indeed, there is no one who is held to account on the Day of Resurrection except that he is punished." I said: "Does Allah not say: فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا ('He will be reckoned with an easy reckoning') [Surah Al-Inshiqāq: 8]?" He said: "That is at the displaying [of the deeds]; indeed, whoever is rigorously held to account is punished" = and he made with his hand a gesture upon his finger, as if pricking into it.
10531 – Al-Qāsim ibn Bishr ibn Maʿrūf related to me, saying: Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Zayd, on the authority of Umayya, who said: I asked ʿĀʾisha about this verse: وَإِنْ تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُمْ بِهِ اللَّهُ ("And whether you disclose what is in your souls or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it") [Surah Al-Baqarah: 284], and "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it." She said: "No one has asked me about that since I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it. He said: 'O ʿĀʾisha, that is the turning [in mercy] of Allah to the servant through what afflicts him of fever and old age, and the merchandise which he puts in his sleeve and then loses, over which he is startled, and which he then finds [again] in his sleeve – until even the believer comes forth from his sins as the red gold comes forth from the smelting furnace.'"
10532 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir al-Khazzāz informed us, saying: Ibn Abī Mulayka related to us, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I know [which is] the severest verse in the Qurʾān!" He said: "Which is it, O ʿĀʾisha?" I said: "It is this verse, O Messenger of Allah: 'Whoever does evil shall be requited for it'." He said: "It is what afflicts the believing servant, down to even the stubbing [against a stone] by which he is stubbed."
10533 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Ṣabīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, who said: When it was revealed: "It is not according to your wishes, nor the wishes of the People of the Book; whoever does evil shall be requited for it," Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, how severe is this verse?" He said: "O Abū Bakr, indeed, you fall ill, and you are grieved, and harm afflicts you; well then, that [is expiation] for that."
10534 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ informed me, he said: When it was revealed, Abū Bakr said: "The back-breaker has come!" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "It is only the calamities in this worldly life."
* * *
The explanation of the words of Allah: وَلا يَجِدْ لَهُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلا نَصِيرًا ("and he will not find for himself besides Allah any protector or helper") (4:123).
Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: By that He means, exalted is His praise: and the one who does evil of the disobediences to Allah and contrary to what He has commanded him, will not find = "besides Allah," that is to say: apart from Allah and other than Him = "a protector" (walī) who manages his affair and wards off from him what descends upon him of punishment from Allah = "nor a helper" (naṣīr), that is to say: nor a helper who helps him against what afflicts him of the punishment of Allah and His painful chastisement.
