سُوْرَةُ الزُّمَرِ
Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 35
لِيُكَفِّرَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَسْوَأَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ وَيَجْزِيَهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿35﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
So that Allâh may expiate from them the evil of what they did and give them the reward, according to the best of what they used to do.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
لِيُكَفِّرَ
liyukaffira
That Allah will remove
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
That Allah will remove
عَنْهُمْ
ʿanhum
from them
أَسْوَأَ
aswa-a
(the) worst
ٱلَّذِى
alladhī
(of) what
عَمِلُوا۟
ʿamilū
they did
وَيَجْزِيَهُمْ
wayajziyahum
and reward them
أَجْرَهُم
ajrahum
their due
بِأَحْسَنِ
bi-aḥsani
for (the) best
ٱلَّذِى
alladhī
(of) what
كَانُوا۟
kānū
they used to
يَعْمَلُونَ
yaʿmalūna
do
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 35) ➊ { لِيُكَفِّرَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ اَسْوَاَ الَّذِيْ عَمِلُوْا : ’’ لِيُكَفِّرَ اللّٰهُ ‘‘} is related to the omitted verb of {’’أَعْطَاهُمْ ذٰلِكَ‘‘}, meaning Allah Almighty will give them this reward, so that He may remove from them the worst deed which they have done... Allah Almighty will deal with the righteous people with grace beyond justice. Justice is that good and bad deeds are counted equally and then reward is given, whereas grace is that a bad deed is written only once and a good deed is written ten times, up to seven hundred times, or without measure. He said: « اِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصّٰبِرُوْنَ اَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ » [ الزمر : ۱۰ ] "Only those who are perfectly patient will be given their reward without measure." By virtue of this grace, Allah Almighty will remove from His righteous servants their worst deeds. When the worst deeds are removed, then the lesser bad deeds will also be removed. Thus, if they were previously disbelievers, then by embracing Islam their previous sins will be forgiven; if they were Muslims, then due to repentance, migration, Hajj, and their righteousness, all their sins will be removed, as He said: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ يَجْعَلْ لَّكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَّ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْكُمْ سَيِّاٰتِكُمْ وَ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَ اللّٰهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيْمِ » [ الأنفال : ۲۹ ] "O you who have believed! If you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion (to distinguish between right and wrong), and will remove from you your evil deeds and forgive you. And Allah is the Possessor of great bounty." See also Surah Al-Ma'idah (65), Surah Muhammad (2), At-Taghabun (9), Al-Ankabut (7), and Al-Ahqaf (16).
➋ { وَ يَجْزِيَهُمْ اَجْرَهُمْ بِاَحْسَنِ الَّذِيْ كَانُوْا يَعْمَلُوْنَ :} means they will be rewarded for their deeds according to those deeds which are the best in their record of deeds. The meaning is that even their deeds of a lower level will be made the best, and the reward for one good deed will be given ten times, up to seven hundred times, or even without measure. See Surah An-Nahl (96, 97) and At-Tur (21).
➋ { وَ يَجْزِيَهُمْ اَجْرَهُمْ بِاَحْسَنِ الَّذِيْ كَانُوْا يَعْمَلُوْنَ :} means they will be rewarded for their deeds according to those deeds which are the best in their record of deeds. The meaning is that even their deeds of a lower level will be made the best, and the reward for one good deed will be given ten times, up to seven hundred times, or even without measure. See Surah An-Nahl (96, 97) and At-Tur (21).
