36:54

فَٱلۡيَوۡمَ لَا تُظۡلَمُ نَفۡسٞ شَيۡـٔٗا وَلَا تُجۡزَوۡنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ

Faalyawma la tuthlamu nafsun shayan wala tujzawna illa ma kuntum taAAmaloona

So today no soul will be wronged at all, and you will not be recompensed except for what you used to do.

Word by word
  1. فَٱلۡيَوۡمَSo this Day
  2. لَاnot
  3. تُظۡلَمُwill be wronged
  4. نَفۡسٞa soul
  5. شَيۡـٔٗا(in) anything
  6. وَلَاand not
  7. تُجۡزَوۡنَyou will be recompensed
  8. إِلَّاexcept
  9. مَا(for) what
  10. كُنتُمۡyou used (to)
  11. تَعۡمَلُونَdo
Ya-Sin · 36:54Makkah

No one is wronged. You get exactly what you did.

Perfect fairness on that Day


The scale
every soulno exceptions
receives
what it didnot more, not less
wrong done to itzero
Two kinds of fear
being treated unfairlywill not happen
my own deedsthe only real question

Ibn Kathir says this means no one will be wronged regarding their deeds. After describing the gathering, the verse settles the question of justice: nothing counted that you did not do.

At work someone else takes credit for your project. In the family your effort goes unseen. It stings. On that Day nothing you did is lost, and nothing you did is hidden either.

Life is unfair, and no one will ever see what I really put in.

Every deed is counted exactly, so mine are worth guarding.

Try this

Do one good thing today that nobody will see or thank you for.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 36:51)

And the Trumpet will be blown and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord (51)They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep." (It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth! (52)It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us (53)This Day, none will be wronged in anything, nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do (54)

The Trumpet Blast of the Resurrection

This will be the third blast of the trumpet, the trumpet blast of the resurrection when people will come forth from their graves. Allah says:

فَإِذَا هُمْ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَنْسِلُونَ 

(and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord.) 'Yansilūn' means they will be walking quickly. This is like the Ayah:

يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ 

(The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as racing to a goal.)(70:43).

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") meaning, their graves, which in this world they thought they would never be raised from. When they see with their own eyes that in which they had disbelieved,

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") This does not contradict the fact that they will be punished in their graves, because in comparison to what is to come afterwards, that will seem like a nap. Ubayy bin Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will sleep before the Resurrection." Qatadah said, "That will be between the two trumpet blasts, they will say, 'Who has raised us up from our place of sleep?'"

When they say that, the believers will respond. This was the view of more than one of the Salaf.

هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

((It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!") Al-Hasan said, "The angels will reply to them in this manner. There is no contradiction because both are possible. And Allah knows best.

إِنْ كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ 

(It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) This is like the Ayat:

فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah, when behold, they find themselves (on the surface of the earth) alive (after their death).)(79:13-14),

وَمَا أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ ۚ 

(And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer)(16:77), and

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِنْ لَبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while!)(17:52) which means, 'We will issue but one command, and all of them will be gathered together.'

فَالْيَوْمَ لَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا

(This Day, none will be wronged in anything,) means, with regard to his deeds.

وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do.)