As-Saffat · Makki · ayah 39 of 182
As-Saffat 37:39
وَمَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“And you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do -”
Saheeh International
Essence
Nothing will be added that you did not do, and nothing you did will be lost: the punishment is simply your own deeds, handed back.
A reflection
Your deeds add nothing to Him
A man plants a few sprigs of mint along the edge of his garden. Two summers later, the whole bed is mint. He stands there complaining about it to his neighbour. The neighbour says nothing. There is nothing to say. He planted it.
This ayah is spoken by the One who weighs every deed. You will not be repaid, it says, except for what you used to do. A hadith qudsi, reported by the Prophet ﷺ from his Lord, gives the fullest commentary on it.
O My servants, Allah says, suppose the first and last of you, humans and jinn, had the heart of the most pious man among you. It would add nothing to My kingdom. If they all had the heart of the most wicked, it would take nothing from it. O My servants, it is only your deeds that I count for you, then repay you in full. Whoever finds good, let him praise Allah. Whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself (Sahih Muslim).
That is the context in which to hear this ayah. It is not the voice of a ruler who gains from punishing. Our obedience does not enlarge Him, and our rebellion does not shrink Him. He is free of need (35:15). He keeps the record for our sake, and returns it to us exactly.
This cuts deep into the ego. We like to think our worship is a favour to God, or our sins a blow against Him. Neither is true. Both are seeds planted in our own garden.
A sceptic may ask whether a God who keeps such exact accounts needs our deeds after all. The hadith answers directly. He keeps the account because it is ours, not because it is His.
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