جَزَآءً وِفَاقًا 26
Translations
An appropriate recompense.
Transliteration
Jazā'an wifāqā
Tafsir (Explanation)
This phrase means 'a fitting reward' or 'a just recompense,' appearing in the context of describing the punishment of the deniers in Hell. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the word 'wifāq' (وفاق) denotes correspondence and proportionality—the punishment matches exactly what the disbelievers earned through their actions and rejection of truth. The ayah emphasizes the divine justice (ʿadl) of Allah, where every soul receives a reward commensurate with its deeds.
Revelation Context
Surah An-Naba is a Meccan surah that addresses the disbelievers' denial of the Day of Judgment and the resurrection. This ayah (78:26) appears within the thematic discussion of the eternal destinies of the righteous and the wicked, serving to reinforce the certainty and justice of the Final Day. The broader context emphasizes that the cosmic signs (creation, provision, resurrection) all testify to God's power and justice.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The most people in Hell are women' (Sahih Bukhari 3331), though they enter not due to injustice but due to their own deeds—exemplifying the principle of just recompense. Additionally, the hadith 'No soul shall know what is kept hidden for them of joy' (Surah As-Sajdah 32:17) complements this by showing the proportionality of both reward and punishment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reassures believers that Allah's justice is absolute and perfectly calibrated—nothing is lost or unjustly applied. For those striving in faith, it should motivate righteous action, and for those wavering, it serves as a sobering reminder that all deeds have consequences proportional to their weight.