سُوْرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ
Surah Al-Muminoon (23) — Ayah 62
وَلَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَـٰبٌ يَنطِقُ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ﴿62﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And We task not any person except according to his capacity, and with Us is a Record which speaks the truth, and they will not be wronged.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَا
walā
And not
نُكَلِّفُ
nukallifu
We burden
نَفْسًا
nafsan
any soul
إِلَّا
illā
except
وُسْعَهَا ۖ
wus'ʿahā
(to) its capacity
وَلَدَيْنَا
waladaynā
and with Us
كِتَـٰبٌۭ
kitābun
(is) a Record
يَنطِقُ
yanṭiqu
(which) speaks
بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ
bil-ḥaqi
with the truth
وَهُمْ
wahum
and they
لَا
lā
(will) not
يُظْلَمُونَ
yuẓ'lamūna
be wronged
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
62. We do not burden anyone beyond their capacity [61], and with Us is a record (Book of deeds) that speaks the truth [62], and they will not be wronged [63].
[61]
The Meaning of Hardship, the Wisdom of Shari'ah Rulings, and Consideration of Each Person's Capacity:
That is, We have not revealed the rulings of Shari'ah in such a way that they are beyond human capacity. The aspect of benefit that has been considered in the Shari'ah rulings is that, generally, these rulings are practicable for the majority of Muslims and under normal circumstances. When circumstances change, then some changes are also made in the rulings. Since these rulings are given keeping in view the capacity or working power of an average person, therefore, for those with less than average capacity, such as the sick or disabled, concessions or allowances are given. Even the Shari'ah rulings have been dropped altogether for minors, the insane, etc. Then, in society, there are also some individuals who have more capacity than the average person. For such people, a wide field of action is presented, encouraging them to fulfill the command as much as possible. For example, every sane and adult Muslim is commanded to perform the five daily prayers in congregation, and it is also necessary to perform ablution or purification before prayer. According to circumstances, the concessions are that whoever does not have water available for ablution at the time can perform tayammum. If a sick person fears that performing ablution will worsen the illness or cause some other harm, he can also perform tayammum. In travel or in a state of fear, one can shorten the prayer and can also combine two prayers, and in the state of travel, one can even perform prayer on a ride. Also, if there is difficulty in determining the correct direction of the Qiblah or the correct time, one can act on estimation. If, due to rain or any other valid excuse, one cannot go to the mosque, one can perform prayer at home. And the example of those with less capacity is that a sick person can perform prayer while sitting; if he is more ill, he can perform it lying down. If he does not even have that much strength, he can perform it by gesture. Such a sick or extremely old person who does not have the strength to go to the mosque can permanently perform prayer at home. This is the meaning of the phrase, "We do not burden any soul beyond its capacity." Even after so many concessions, if someone deliberately does not perform prayer, he will become a disbeliever, and if he is negligent in performing prayer, he will be committing a major sin. And for those who have more capacity, besides the obligatory prayers, supererogatory prayers (nawafil) have been prescribed. For example, the obligatory rak'ahs of Zuhr prayer are only four. The additional rak'ahs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed voluntarily are Sunnah for us, and they are four rak'ahs before the obligatory prayer and two after it. Then, on these obligatory and Sunnah rak'ahs, more rak'ahs are added voluntarily at the end, which are called nafl, and even more nawafil can be added to them. Then there are some prayers that are fard kifayah, such as the Friday prayer and the funeral prayer, etc., and some are Sunnah, such as the Tahajjud prayer, which was obligatory for the Prophet ﷺ but is an emphasized Sunnah for the Ummah, or the Tarawih prayer, and some prayers are purely voluntary, such as the Duha prayer, the Awwabin prayer, and the nawafil of gratitude, and some voluntary prayers are related to circumstances, such as the prayer for rain (Salat al-Istisqa), the eclipse prayers (Salat al-Kusuf and Khusuf), etc. This is the wide field that becomes the means of progress in ranks. Then, this is not the case only with prayer; the same applies to charity and alms, in fact, to every pillar of Islam and righteous deed, that there is a wide field of voluntary acts in it. This is the field about which Allah Almighty has said: ﴿يُسٰرِعُوْنَ فِي الْخَيْرٰتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سٰبِقُوْنَ﴾ And its other meaning can also be that striving to surpass one another in good deeds is not something beyond human capacity. At the very least, every person should certainly try to do so.
[62]
The Method of Recording Deeds:
That is, every person's deeds, actions, words, even the thoughts of wealth and the whispers and intentions that arise in the heart, are being recorded simultaneously. According to the explicit statement of the Quran, there are two honorable angels who record these, one on the right side of a person, the other on the left side. Then their duties also change at the times of Fajr and Asr. The scientific inventions of the present age have made this reality much more understandable as to how these things are automatically recorded. In other words, the complete history sheet of every person's life is present with Allah, and its characteristic is that not even the smallest thing is left unrecorded, nor can there be any incorrect entry in it. [نيز ديكهئے سورة كهف كي آيت نمبر 49]
[63] That is, it cannot happen that someone receives less reward than his deed, nor that he receives more punishment than his sin, or that someone else's crime is entered into another's account. In short, any kind of injustice or deprivation of rights will not be possible.
[61]
The Meaning of Hardship, the Wisdom of Shari'ah Rulings, and Consideration of Each Person's Capacity:
That is, We have not revealed the rulings of Shari'ah in such a way that they are beyond human capacity. The aspect of benefit that has been considered in the Shari'ah rulings is that, generally, these rulings are practicable for the majority of Muslims and under normal circumstances. When circumstances change, then some changes are also made in the rulings. Since these rulings are given keeping in view the capacity or working power of an average person, therefore, for those with less than average capacity, such as the sick or disabled, concessions or allowances are given. Even the Shari'ah rulings have been dropped altogether for minors, the insane, etc. Then, in society, there are also some individuals who have more capacity than the average person. For such people, a wide field of action is presented, encouraging them to fulfill the command as much as possible. For example, every sane and adult Muslim is commanded to perform the five daily prayers in congregation, and it is also necessary to perform ablution or purification before prayer. According to circumstances, the concessions are that whoever does not have water available for ablution at the time can perform tayammum. If a sick person fears that performing ablution will worsen the illness or cause some other harm, he can also perform tayammum. In travel or in a state of fear, one can shorten the prayer and can also combine two prayers, and in the state of travel, one can even perform prayer on a ride. Also, if there is difficulty in determining the correct direction of the Qiblah or the correct time, one can act on estimation. If, due to rain or any other valid excuse, one cannot go to the mosque, one can perform prayer at home. And the example of those with less capacity is that a sick person can perform prayer while sitting; if he is more ill, he can perform it lying down. If he does not even have that much strength, he can perform it by gesture. Such a sick or extremely old person who does not have the strength to go to the mosque can permanently perform prayer at home. This is the meaning of the phrase, "We do not burden any soul beyond its capacity." Even after so many concessions, if someone deliberately does not perform prayer, he will become a disbeliever, and if he is negligent in performing prayer, he will be committing a major sin. And for those who have more capacity, besides the obligatory prayers, supererogatory prayers (nawafil) have been prescribed. For example, the obligatory rak'ahs of Zuhr prayer are only four. The additional rak'ahs that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed voluntarily are Sunnah for us, and they are four rak'ahs before the obligatory prayer and two after it. Then, on these obligatory and Sunnah rak'ahs, more rak'ahs are added voluntarily at the end, which are called nafl, and even more nawafil can be added to them. Then there are some prayers that are fard kifayah, such as the Friday prayer and the funeral prayer, etc., and some are Sunnah, such as the Tahajjud prayer, which was obligatory for the Prophet ﷺ but is an emphasized Sunnah for the Ummah, or the Tarawih prayer, and some prayers are purely voluntary, such as the Duha prayer, the Awwabin prayer, and the nawafil of gratitude, and some voluntary prayers are related to circumstances, such as the prayer for rain (Salat al-Istisqa), the eclipse prayers (Salat al-Kusuf and Khusuf), etc. This is the wide field that becomes the means of progress in ranks. Then, this is not the case only with prayer; the same applies to charity and alms, in fact, to every pillar of Islam and righteous deed, that there is a wide field of voluntary acts in it. This is the field about which Allah Almighty has said: ﴿يُسٰرِعُوْنَ فِي الْخَيْرٰتِ وَهُمْ لَهَا سٰبِقُوْنَ﴾ And its other meaning can also be that striving to surpass one another in good deeds is not something beyond human capacity. At the very least, every person should certainly try to do so.
[62]
The Method of Recording Deeds:
That is, every person's deeds, actions, words, even the thoughts of wealth and the whispers and intentions that arise in the heart, are being recorded simultaneously. According to the explicit statement of the Quran, there are two honorable angels who record these, one on the right side of a person, the other on the left side. Then their duties also change at the times of Fajr and Asr. The scientific inventions of the present age have made this reality much more understandable as to how these things are automatically recorded. In other words, the complete history sheet of every person's life is present with Allah, and its characteristic is that not even the smallest thing is left unrecorded, nor can there be any incorrect entry in it. [نيز ديكهئے سورة كهف كي آيت نمبر 49]
[63] That is, it cannot happen that someone receives less reward than his deed, nor that he receives more punishment than his sin, or that someone else's crime is entered into another's account. In short, any kind of injustice or deprivation of rights will not be possible.
