وَٱتَّقُوا۟ يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِى نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا تَنفَعُهَا شَفَـٰعَةٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ 123
Translations
And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, and no compensation will be accepted from it, nor will any intercession benefit it, nor will they be aided.
Transliteration
Wa-ttaqoo yawman la tajzee nafsun 'an nafshin shay'an wa la yuqbalu minha 'adlun wa la tanfa'uha shafa'ah wa la hum yunsarun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah warns believers to fear the Day of Judgment when no soul can bear the burden of another's sins, no compensation will be accepted, no intercession will benefit anyone, and no one will receive help. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize this as a profound warning about the isolation and personal accountability of each individual before Allah on the Day of Resurrection, where neither wealth, kinship, nor intercession from others can save a person from their deeds.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the second surah of the Quran and is part of the broader Medinan passage addressing the believers about their obligations and the reality of the Afterlife. It follows immediately after ayah 2:122 which addresses the Children of Israel, and serves as a universal warning to all believers about the seriousness of the Day of Judgment and the need for personal accountability.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family' (Tirmidhi). Related thematically is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet described how on the Day of Judgment, people will flee from their own relatives because everyone will be preoccupied with their own affairs.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that spiritual preparation and righteous deeds during life are essential because on the Day of Judgment, we face absolute personal accountability before Allah with no excuses or intermediaries to save us. Believers should cultivate taqwa (God-consciousness) and focus on their own relationship with Allah and their deeds, rather than relying on wealth, status, or connections.
Related Ayahs
وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
And warn them, [O Muḥammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا يَوْمُ ٱلدِّينِ
And what can make you know what is the Day of Recompense?
فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جَمَعْنَـٰهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ لَّا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَوُفِّيَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
So how will it be when We assemble them for a Day about which there is no doubt? And each soul will be compensated [in full for] what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْجَمْعِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلتَّغَابُنِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ وَيَعْمَلْ صَـٰلِحًا يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِۦ وَيُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
The Day He will assemble you for the Day of Assembly - that is the Day of Deprivation. And whoever believes in Allāh and does righteousness - He will remove from him his misdeeds and admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.