Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:160
Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof [to his credit], and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.
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 جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلا يُجْزَى إِلا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ (6:160) ("Whoever comes with a good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof; and whoever comes with an evil deed will be recompensed only with the like thereof, and they will not be wronged.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Whoever meets his Lord on the Day of Resurrection at the place of reckoning — from among those who abandoned their religion and split into sects — with repentance, faith (īmān), and with the relinquishing of the error in which he persisted, that is the good deed (al-ḥasana) which Allah mentioned when He said: whoever comes with it, for him is tenfold the like thereof.
By His saying (for him is tenfold the like thereof) He means: for him are ten good deeds equal to the good deed with which he came. And (whoever comes with the evil deed), He says: whoever of them arrives on the Day of Resurrection having abandoned the true religion and with disbelief (kufr) towards Allah, he will be recompensed only with what harms him in recompense, in accordance with that with which he arrived before Allah of his evil deed. And (they will not be wronged), He says: Allah wrongs neither of the two groups — neither the group of the doers of good nor the group of the doers of evil — by recompensing the doer of good with evil and the doer of evil with goodness; rather, He recompenses each of the two groups with the recompense that is due to them, for He, whose praise is exalted, is wise (ḥakīm) and places nothing except in the place it deserves, and He recompenses no one except with the recompense he deserves.
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We have already demonstrated previously that the meaning of "wrong" (al-ẓulm) is the placing of a thing in a place other than its own, with the proofs that exempt us from repeating them in this place.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: If someone were to say: If the matter is as you have mentioned, namely that the meaning of "the good deed" (al-ḥasana) in this place is: faith in Allah, the acknowledgement of His oneness, and the affirmation of His messenger — and "the evil deed" (al-sayyiʾa) therein: the ascribing of partners to Him (shirk) and the denial of His messenger — does faith then have likes (amthāl) with which the believer is rewarded? And if it has a like, how is he rewarded with it, while "faith," according to you, is only word and deed, and Allah's recompense to His servants for it is the honor in the Hereafter and the bestowal of the felicity which He has prepared for the inhabitants of His honor in the abode of eternity — and those are concrete things that are seen, beheld, and felt and enjoyed, not a word that is heard, nor an acquisition of the limbs?
To this it is said: Its meaning is other than what you supposed. Its meaning is only: whoever comes with the good deed and arrives with it before Allah as one obedient to Him, for him in reward is the reward of ten good deeds the like thereof.
If he says: Does the saying "there is no god but Allah" (lā ilāha illā Allāh) have a like among the good deeds?
It is said: It has a like that is something other than it, [but it has a like which is the saying "there is no god but Allah"], and that is what Allah, whose praise is exalted, has promised to whoever comes with it, namely that He will reward him for it with a reward equal to tenfold of what the one who says it deserves. And so it is also with whoever comes with the evil deed, which is shirk, except that the one who commits it is rewarded for it only with what he deserves for it, without any multiplication of it over him.
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And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
14271 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb al-Qummī related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Abī al-Mughīra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: When there was revealed: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof), a man from the people said: Is "there is no god but Allah" then a good deed? He said: Yes, the best of good deeds.
14272 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash and al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Jāmiʿ ibn Shaddād, on the authority of al-Aswad ibn Hilāl, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: (whoever comes with the good deed) — there is no god but Allah.
14273 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash and al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Jāmiʿ ibn Shaddād, on the authority of al-Aswad ibn Hilāl, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: whoever comes with "there is no god but Allah." He said: (and whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14274 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Jāmiʿ ibn Shaddād, on the authority of al-Aswad ibn Hilāl, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah.
14275 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn ʿAmr al-Muʿannā related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Shaqīq: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah, the word of sincere devotion (al-ikhlāṣ). (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14276 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd — and on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of Mujāhid and al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza: (whoever comes with the good deed), they said: there is no god but Allah, the word of sincere devotion. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), they said: with shirk and with disbelief.
14277 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr and Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14278 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Jābir ibn Nūḥ related to us, saying: Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof), he said: there is no god but Allah.
14279 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Miḥjal, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14280 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Miḥjal, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, the like of it.
14281 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū al-Miḥjal, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, the like of it.
14282 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Miḥjal, on the authority of Abū Maʿshar, who said: Ibrāhīm used to swear by Allah without making any reservation: that (whoever comes with the good deed) is "there is no god but Allah," and (whoever comes with the evil deed) is whoever comes with shirk.
14283 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His saying: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: the word of sincere devotion, there is no god but Allah. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: with shirk.
14284 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us — and al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us — both together, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14285 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn al-Aswad, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: the word of sincere devotion. (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: disbelief (al-kufr).
14286 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Salama, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah.
14287 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah.
14288 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥimmānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of Saʿīd: (whoever comes with the good deed), he said: there is no god but Allah.
14289 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥimmānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
14290 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His saying: (whoever comes with the good deed), he says: whoever comes with "there is no god but Allah." (And whoever comes with the evil deed), he said: shirk.
14291 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof, and whoever comes with the evil deed will be recompensed only with the like thereof, and they will not be wronged): we have been told that the Prophet of Allah, the Prophet ﷺ, used to say: The deeds are six: an obligating one and an obligating one, a multiplying one and a multiplying one, and a like-for-like one and a like-for-like one. As for the two obligating ones: whoever meets Allah ascribing nothing to Him as a partner enters Paradise, and whoever meets Allah while ascribing partners to Him enters the Fire. And as for the multiplying one and the multiplying one: the believer's expenditure in the way of Allah is sevenhundredfold, and his expenditure upon his household is tenfold the like thereof. And as for the like-for-like one and the like-for-like one: when the servant intends a good deed but does not perform it, a good deed is written for him, and when he intends an evil deed and then performs it, an evil deed is written against him.
14292 — al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Shimr ibn ʿAṭiyya, on the authority of an old man from the Taym, on the authority of Abū Dharr, who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, teach me a deed that brings me closer to Paradise and removes me from the Fire. He said: When you commit an evil deed, perform a good deed, for it is tenfold the like thereof. He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, does "there is no god but Allah" belong to the good deeds? He said: It is the best of good deeds.
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And a group said: By this verse the bedouin (al-aʿrāb) are meant; as for the emigrants (al-muhājirūn), their good deeds are sevenhundredfold or more.
* Mention of who said that:
14293 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abū al-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, concerning His saying: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof), he said: this is for the bedouin, and for the emigrants it is sevenhundred.
14294 — Muḥammad Abū Nashīṭ ibn Hārūn al-Ḥarbī related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Abī Bukayr related to us, saying: Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, who said: This verse was revealed concerning the bedouin: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof). He said: A man said: And what is there for the emigrants? He said: That which is greater than that: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِنْ تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا [Surah al-Nisāʾ: 40] ("Indeed, Allah does not wrong even the weight of an atom; and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward."). And when Allah says of something: "great," then it is great.
14295 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, who said: This verse was revealed: (whoever comes with the good deed, for him is tenfold the like thereof), while they used to fast three days each month and give a tithe of their possessions. Then the obligations were revealed, after that: the fasting of Ramadan and the zakāh.
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If someone were to say: And how was it said "tenfold the like thereof" (ʿashru amthālihā), so that "the ten" is annexed to "the likes," while they are the likes themselves? And can a thing be annexed to itself?
It is said: It is annexed to it because what is meant by it is: for him are ten good deeds the like thereof. Thus "the likes" took the place of the explanatory word, and "the ten" was annexed to it, as one says: "I have ten women." Since by the likes it was meant that they take the place of it, it was said: "tenfold the like thereof," whereby "the ten" was brought out as the number of the good deeds. And "the like" (al-mithl) is masculine, not feminine; but when it took the place of the good deeds — and "the like" is applicable to both the masculine and the feminine — it was made the substitute for it and there was done with it what I have mentioned. And whoever says: "I have ten likes thereof" does not say: "I have ten good [feminine deeds]," for "the good deeds" (al-ṣāliḥāt) is an action that is not counted; only the nouns are counted. And "the like" is a noun, and for that reason counting with it was permissible.
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And it has been transmitted from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that he used to read it: "fa-lahu ʿashrun" with nunation, "amthāluhā" with the nominative. And that is in a manner that is correct in Arabic, except that the reciters (al-qaraʾa) in the regions maintain the contrary of it, and we do not deem it permissible to deviate from that upon which they are agreed.