Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:46
Whoever does righteousness - it is for his [own] soul; and whoever does evil [does so] against it. And your Lord is not ever unjust to [His] servants.
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 saying of the Exalted: مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ (41:46) — ("Whoever does righteousness, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is against himself; and your Lord is not unjust to His servants.")
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: whoever in this world acts in obedience to Allah, follows His command, and refrains from what He has forbidden him, فَلِنَفْسِهِ ("then it is for himself") — He says: then he has performed that good of his action for himself, for he will be recompensed for it with his reward, so that in the Hereafter he earns from Allah the Garden (janna) and deliverance from the Fire. وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ("and whoever does evil, it is against himself") — He says: and whoever therein acts with deeds of disobedience to Allah has wronged himself, for he has thereby earned for himself the wrath of Allah and the painful punishment. وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ ("and your Lord is not unjust to His servants") — the Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: and your Lord, O Muḥammad, does not impose the punishment for the sin of a sinner upon anyone other than the one who committed it; rather, He punishes no one except for his own crime that he committed in this world, or for a cause through which he deserved it from Him. And Allah knows best.
