Quran Universe
26:113

إِنۡ حِسَابُهُمۡ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّيۖ لَوۡ تَشۡعُرُونَ

In hisabuhum illa AAala rabbee law tashAAuroona

Their account is only upon my Lord, if you [could] perceive.

Word by word
  1. إِنۡVerily
  2. حِسَابُهُمۡtheir account
  3. إِلَّا(is) but
  4. عَلَىٰupon
  5. رَبِّيۖmy Lord
  6. لَوۡif
  7. تَشۡعُرُونَyou perceive
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:113Makkah

Their account is with my Lord, not with me.

Leaving hearts to the One who knows them

Who keeps the account
their heartswhat is inside
known by
my Lordonly Him
Whose job is judging
mineI can tell who is sincere
Allah'sif you could but know

Nuh continues: their account is only with my Lord, if you could but know. Ibn Kathir says whatever is in their hearts is for Allah to know. Nuh's task was the message, not judging the inner state of those who accepted it.

You decide someone's hijab is for show, someone's charity is for likes, someone's tears in prayer are fake. You cannot see inside them. Their account is with Allah. Yours is too.

I can usually tell when someone's religion is fake.

Only Allah knows what is in a heart. I will leave the account to Him.

Try this

Catch one judgment about someone's sincerity today and let it go.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:111)

They said: "Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you? (111)He said: "And what knowledge have I of what they used to do? (112)"Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know. (113)"And I am not going to drive away the believers. (114)"I am only a plain warner. (115)

The Demand of the People of Nuh and His Response

They said: "We do not believe in you, and we will not follow you and become equal to the meanest of the people, who follow you and believe in you, and they are the lowest among us."

قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْأَرْذَلُونَ - قَالَ وَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

(They said: "Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you?" He said: "And what knowledge have I of what they used to do?") meaning, 'what does it have to do with me if they follow me? No matter what they used to do before, I do not have to check on them and examine their background; all I have to do is accept it if they believe in me; whatever is in their hearts is for Allah to know.'

إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّي ۖ لَوْ تَشْعُرُونَ - وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know. And I am not going to drive away the believers.) It seems that they asked him to drive these people away, then they would follow him, but he refused to do that, and said:

وَمَا أَنَا بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(And I am not going to drive away the believers. I am only a plain warner.) meaning, 'I have been sent as a warner, and whoever obeys me and follows me and believes in me, then he belongs to me and I to him, whether he is noble or common, upper-class or lower-class.'