قُل لَّا تُسْـَٔلُونَ عَمَّآ أَجْرَمْنَا وَلَا نُسْـَٔلُ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ 25
Translations
Say, "You will not be asked about what we committed, and we will not be asked about what you do."
Transliteration
Qul lā tusjālūna ʿammā ajramnā wa lā nusʾal ʿammā taʿmalūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is commanded to tell the disbelievers that they will not be questioned about the sins of the Muslims, nor will the Muslims be questioned about the disbelievers' deeds on the Day of Judgment. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this verse emphasizes the principle that each person bears responsibility only for their own actions, refuting the pagan Arabs' attempt to hold the Prophet accountable for their own transgressions and establishing that divine justice operates on individual accountability.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Saba, a Meccan surah revealed during the period when the Prophet faced intense opposition from Quraysh. The verse is part of a broader context addressing the arguments and accusations leveled against the Prophet by disbelievers who attempted to deflect responsibility for their own rejection of faith.
Related Hadiths
The principle is supported by Quranic elaboration in Surah Al-Isra (17:15): 'There is no burden on any soul except that which it bears' (Sahih Muslim 2577). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3318) emphasizes personal accountability: 'Each of you is a guardian and each of you will be asked about those in his custody.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that we are solely responsible for our own actions and beliefs before Allah, and cannot be held accountable for others' sins, nor can we blame others for our own choices. It encourages believers to focus on personal righteousness rather than judging or being preoccupied with others' spiritual states.
Related Ayahs
فَٱلْيَوْمَ لَا يَمْلِكُ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ نَّفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا وَنَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ ذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ٱلَّتِى كُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ
But today [i.e., the Day of Judgement] you do not hold for one another [the power of] benefit or harm, and We will say to those who wronged, "Taste the punishment of the Fire, which you used to deny."
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِى قَرْيَةٍ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَآ إِنَّا بِمَآ أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِۦ كَـٰفِرُونَ
And We did not send into a city any warner except that its affluent said, "Indeed we, in that with which you were sent, are disbelievers."
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allāh." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.
وَكَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَمَا بَلَغُوا۟ مِعْشَارَ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوا۟ رُسُلِى ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
And those before them denied, and they [i.e., the people of Makkah] have not attained a tenth of what We had given them. But they [i.e., the former peoples] denied My messengers, so how [terrible] was My reproach.