Quran Universe
68:35

أَفَنَجۡعَلُ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ كَٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ

AfanajAAalu almuslimeena kaalmujrimeena

Then will We treat the Muslims like the criminals?

Word by word
  1. أَفَنَجۡعَلُThen will We treat
  2. ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَthe Muslims
  3. كَٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَlike the criminals
Al-Qalam · 68:35Makkah

Would Allah treat the obedient and the criminals the same?

Justice means different outcomes for different paths

The question
those who submit
equal to?
the criminals
The answer
it all ends the same
surely notby the Lord of heaven and earth

The chiefs of Makkah assumed they would do fine whatever happened. Ibn Kathir explains the question: should We deal equally between them in recompense? His answer: nay, surely not.

The honest worker and the one who cheats get the same bonus. The kind sibling and the cruel one get the same praise. It can feel like goodness does not count. With Allah, it always counts.

Good or bad, it all ends up the same in the end.

Allah is just. Obedience and wrongdoing do not end in the same place.

Try this

Do one good deed today that nobody will reward you for, trusting that Allah sees it.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 68:34)

Verily, for those who have Taqwa are Gardens of Delight with their Lord (34)Shall We then treat the Muslims like the criminals (35)What is the matter with you? How judge you (36)Or have you a Book wherein you learn (37)That you shall therein have all that you choose (38)Or have you oaths from Us, lasting until the Day of Judgement, that yours will be what you judge (39)Ask them, which of them will stand as surety for that (40)Or have they "partners"? Then let them bring their "partners" if they are truthful (41)

The Reward of those Who have Taqwa and that They will not be treated like the Criminals

After Allah mentions the situation of the people of the worldly garden and the wrath they suffered when they disobeyed Allah and opposed his commands, He then explains that whoever has Taqwa of Him, then they will have Gardens of Delight in the Hereafter that will never end. These Gardens will last forever and their pleasures will never cease. Allah says,

أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ

(Shall We then treat the Muslims like the criminals?)

Meaning, ‘should we deal equally between them in terms of recompense?’ Nay, by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, surely not! Thus, Allah says,

مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

(What is the matter with you? How do judge you?) meaning, ‘how can you think that?' Then he says,

أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَابٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ - إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ

(Or have you a Book wherein you learn, That you shall therein have all that you choose?)

Allah is saying in this, ‘is there in your hands a Book that has been sent down from heaven that you study, memorize and pass on to each other, the latter generations conveying it from the generations of old? Do you have such a Book, containing definite laws, as you claim?'

إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ - أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَانٌ عَلَيْنَا بَالِغَةٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ۙ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ

(That you shall therein have all that you choose? Or have you oaths from Us, lasting until the Day of Judgement, that yours will be what you judge?) meaning, ‘do you have covenants and confirmed agreements with Us?’

إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ

(that yours will be what you judge?) meaning, ‘that you will attain all that you want and desire.’

سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُم بِذَٰلِكَ زَعِيمٌ

(Ask them, which of them will stand as surety for that!) meaning, say to them, “Who is the sponsor of guarantee this?” Ibn ‘Abbas said that it means, “Which of them will be guarantor for that?”

أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ

(Or have they "partners"?) meaning, ‘do they have idols and rivals gods (besides Allah)?’

فَلْيَأْتُوا بِشُرَكَائِهِمْ إِن كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ

(Then let them bring their "partners" if they are truthful!)