مَنْ عَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَنْ أَسَآءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ 15
Translations
Whoever does a good deed - it is for himself; and whoever does evil - it is against it [i.e., the self or soul]. Then to your Lord you will be returned.
Transliteration
Man amila salihan falinfusihi wa man asa fa alayha thumma ila rabbikum turja'un
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah establishes the principle of personal accountability in Islamic theology: whoever performs righteous deeds benefits himself, and whoever commits evil harms only himself—Allah is neither benefited by obedience nor harmed by disobedience. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this verse reinforces that deeds are personal matters affecting the doer's spiritual state, and ultimately all souls will return to Allah for judgment where the reality of one's actions will be fully manifest.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Al-Jathiyah, a Meccan surah that addresses fundamental Islamic beliefs including resurrection, accountability, and divine justice. The verse serves as a key theological statement about the nature of human responsibility and the absence of intermediaries between the servant and Allah—a central theme in countering Meccan polytheism and establishing tawhid (monotheism).
Related Hadiths
The principle echoes in the hadith from Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Each of you is a guardian, and each of you is responsible for those under his guardianship.' More directly, various hadiths on the Day of Judgment confirm that every soul will see the results of its deeds, reinforcing the accountability principle of this verse.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that we cannot blame others or external circumstances for our spiritual state—our deeds are ultimately our own responsibility and will directly affect our eternal destiny. In modern context, it emphasizes personal integrity and the importance of conscious decision-making, as each soul will answer for its own choices before Allah on the Day of Judgment.