Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { اِنْ تَكْفُرُوْا فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنْكُمْ :} The meaning of kufr is also ingratitude and denial, that is, if you are ungrateful for Allah’s blessings, which have been mentioned above, or if you choose kufr instead of faith, then surely Allah is very independent of you, He is in no way in need of you, neither does He benefit from your gratitude or faith, nor is He harmed by your ingratitude or kufr, you alone are in every way in need of Him. See also Surah Ibrahim (8).
➋ { وَ لَا يَرْضٰى لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ :} Yes, He does not like kufr and ingratitude for His servants. Here it is noteworthy that instead of saying {’’وَلَا يَرْضٰي لَكُمُ الْكُفْرَ‘‘} (He does not like ingratitude for you), it is said that He does not like ingratitude for His ‘ibad (servants). The meaning is that no master likes ingratitude from his slaves, think about yourself, would you like ingratitude and rebellion from any of your slaves, even though the slave is a human like you? Then how would Allah like ingratitude and kufr from His slaves, when they are created by Him and in every way in need of Him?
➌ Here it should be remembered that Allah’s will (mashiyyah) and intention is one thing, and His pleasure and liking is another. In the world, nothing can happen without His will and intention, but He has given humans and jinn a certain degree of choice, if they wish, they can show gratitude for His blessings and believe in Him and act upon His commands, or if they wish, they can be ungrateful and commit kufr and disobey His commands. There are countless wisdoms in giving this choice, one of which is the testing of His servants, but He does not like that His servants, being His slaves, show ingratitude and disobedience. For example, the kufr of Iblis and all disbelievers is also by His will and intention, they are not overpowering Allah, but are committing kufr only because of the choice given by Him, but Allah does not like their kufr.
➍ {وَ اِنْ تَشْكُرُوْا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ: ’’ يَرْضَهُ ‘‘} Originally it is {’’يَرْضَاهُ‘‘}, due to being the result of a conditional clause, it has been given jazm, because of which the “alif” has dropped. The pronoun in { ’’هٗ‘‘} is referring to the gratitude found in {’’ تَشْكُرُوْا ‘‘}, meaning if you are grateful, Allah will like this gratitude for you.
➎ { وَ لَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِّزْرَ اُخْرٰى :} That is, every person among you is responsible for his own deeds, if he chooses kufr on someone else’s saying or to please someone else, then no one will bear the burden of his kufr. For the reason why {’’ وَازِرَةٌ ‘‘} is feminine and for more details, see the tafsir of Surah Fatir, Ayah (18).
➏ { ثُمَّ اِلٰى رَبِّكُمْ مَّرْجِعُكُمْ … :} That is, in this world you have the choice of gratitude or kufr, but in the end you all have to return to Allah, Who created you in the beginning. He will inform you and reward you for the very deeds you used to do, it will not happen that someone else’s deeds are placed upon you, nor will your good or bad deeds be erased.
➐ { اِنَّهٗ عَلِيْمٌۢ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُوْرِ:} This is the reason for the previous sentence, that is, it is not difficult for Allah to present the deeds of every person among you before Him, because He is fully aware of what is in the hearts, then how can any word or deed remain hidden from Him?

7. 1. For its explanation, see (وَقَالَ مُوْسٰٓى اِنْ تَكْفُرُوْٓا اَنْتُمْ وَمَنْ فِي الْاَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا ۙ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَغَنِيٌّ حَمِيْدٌ) 14. Ibrahim:8) footnote.

If you disbelieve, surely Allah is independent of you, yet He does not approve disbelief for His servants. But if you are grateful, He approves it for you [15]. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another [16]. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do. Surely, He is Knowing of what is within the breasts.

[15]
The Benefits of Gratitude:

If, despite Allah Almighty’s countless blessings upon you, you are ungrateful for these blessings and continue to give His right of worship to others, it will not harm Allah Almighty in the least. The loss will be entirely yours. However, Allah does not like your ingratitude or such disloyalty. What is pleasing to Him is that you show gratitude for His blessings, and even this He likes for your own benefit. The benefit of gratitude for you is that, firstly, your Lord will be pleased, and secondly, He will grant you even more blessings. For further details, see the commentary on verse 7 of Surah Ibrahim.

[16] That is, if today you choose the path of disbelief or misguidance to please someone or to avoid their displeasure, then on the Day of Resurrection, that person will not bear your burden. His own sins will have become a calamity for him—how will he bear your burden? Therefore, be extremely cautious regarding shirk and ingratitude to Allah. Do not be misled by others. Try to recognize and understand the straightforward truth and the straight path yourself. Those whom you have taken as your leaders today will be of no use to you tomorrow.