وَإِنَّ كُلًّا لَّمَّا لَيُوَفِّيَنَّهُمْ رَبُّكَ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ 111
Translations
And indeed, each [of the believers and disbelievers] - your Lord will fully compensate them for their deeds. Indeed, He is Aware of what they do.
Transliteration
Wa-inna kullan lammā layuwaffiyannah-um rabbuka a'māla-hum. Innahu bimā ya'malūn khabīr.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that Allah will surely give each soul its full recompense for its deeds on the Day of Judgment, whether good or evil. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that the emphatic construction (with the doubled lām and intensifying particle 'ammā) underscores the certainty and completeness of divine justice—nothing will be lost or overlooked. The concluding phrase establishes that Allah's perfect knowledge ('ilm) of all actions guarantees the justness of this reckoning.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears near the conclusion of Surah Hud, which extensively discusses the stories of the prophets and their peoples' responses to divine guidance. The context reinforces a central theme of the surah: that despite apparent worldly inequality or delay in punishment/reward, divine justice is absolute and will be fully manifested in the Hereafter. It provides reassurance to the early Muslim community facing persecution.
Related Hadiths
The Hadith Qudsi recorded in Sahih Muslim: 'The Mighty and Majestic One says: I am as my servant expects of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me.' Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari regarding the Day of Judgment where Allah will ensure each person receives exact justice (Qisas).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah provides profound comfort and accountability: believers should trust that no good deed is ever wasted, and no wrongdoing escapes Allah's knowledge, motivating ethical conduct in this life with certainty of just recompense in the Hereafter.
Related Ayahs
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَابًا ذَا عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ إِذَا هُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ
Until when We have opened before them a door of severe punishment, immediately they will be therein in despair.
وَأَمَّا مَنْ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا فَلَهُۥ جَزَآءً ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَسَنَقُولُ لَهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِنَا يُسْرًا
But as for one who believes and does righteousness, he will have a reward of the best [i.e., Paradise], and we [i.e., Dhul-Qarnayn] will speak to him from our command with ease."
وَمَن يَكْسِبْ إِثْمًا فَإِنَّمَا يَكْسِبُهُۥ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِۦ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
And whoever earns [i.e., commits] a sin only earns it against himself. And Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise.
وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا ٱلْقُرُونَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا۟ ۙ وَجَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ لِيُؤْمِنُوا۟ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
And We had already destroyed generations before you when they wronged, and their messengers had come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe. Thus do We recompense the criminal people.