Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:42
But those who believed and did righteous deeds - We charge no soul except [within] its capacity. Those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.
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 His statement: وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلا وُسْعَهَا أُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (42) ("And those who believe and do righteous deeds — We charge no soul beyond its capacity — they are the inhabitants of Paradise; therein they will abide eternally.") (42)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And those who have affirmed the truth of Allah and His Messenger, and who have acknowledged what has come to them of revelation from Allah, His sent-down Book, and the legal ordinances of His religion, and who did what Allah commanded them and thereby obeyed Him, and refrained from what He forbade them = (We charge no soul beyond its capacity), He says: We charge no soul with any deeds except with what it is able to bear, so that there is no distress in it for it = (they), He says: these who have believed and done righteous deeds = (are the inhabitants of Paradise), He says: they are the people of Paradise (al-janna) who are its true inhabitants, to the exclusion of others who were unbelievers concerning Allah and who committed their evil deeds = (therein they will abide eternally), He says: they abide permanently in Paradise, their dwelling therein is everlasting; they are not driven out of it, nor are its blessings taken away from them.
