وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـٰهُمْ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوا۟ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 76
Translations
And We did not wrong them, but it was they who were the wrongdoers.
Transliteration
Wa mā ẓalamnaāhum wa lākin kānū hum aẓ-ẓālimīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that Allah did not wrong the inhabitants of Hell; rather, they wronged themselves through their disbelief and rejection of the truth. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that Allah's punishment is always just and proportionate, and those in Hell will have no excuse before Allah on the Day of Judgment, as they themselves chose the path of injustice and transgression.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Az-Zukhruf's discussion of the Day of Judgment and the fate of disbelievers. It reinforces the broader Quranic theme that Allah's judgment is perfectly just and that the inhabitants of Hell are punished only for their own deliberate choices and actions in rejecting guidance.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'Everyone will find easy what he was created for' (Sahih Muslim 2647), emphasizing that people freely choose their spiritual direction. Additionally, Surah Al-Anfal 51 contains the related principle that Allah does not change the condition of people until they change what is in themselves.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah is perfectly just and does not punish anyone unjustly; we alone are responsible for our choices and their consequences. It calls believers to examine their own actions and choices, knowing that we cannot blame external circumstances or Allah for our spiritual failures.
Related Ayahs
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُسْـَٔلُ عَن ذَنۢبِهِۦٓ إِنسٌ وَلَا جَآنٌّ
Then on that Day none will be asked about his sin among men or jinn.
فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا۟ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وَأَنفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
Then whoever argues with you about it after [this] knowledge has come to you - say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [together] and invoke the curse of Allāh upon the liars [among us]."
شَهِدَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَأُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْعِلْمِ قَآئِمًۢا بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۚ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Allāh witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَيْرٌ مُّسْتَقَرًّا وَأَحْسَنُ مَقِيلًا
The companions of Paradise, that Day, are [in] a better settlement and better resting place.