Al Mu’minūn

وَلاَ نُكَلّـِفُ نَفْساً إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَابٌ يَنطِقُ بِالْحَقّ‌ِ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

62. “And We do not task a soul but to the extent of its ability, and with Us is Record which clearly speaks the truth, and they will not be dealt with unjustly.”

In Islamic jurisprudence there is a rule based on this verse called: ‘the negation of distress and constriction’, which governs all Islamic rulings and holds priority over them. It means that when an obligation causes intolerable hardship, that obligation becomes nullified. The duties are not the same for all individuals. Everyone’s obligations are related to his or her physical, intellectual, and resource capabilities. Allah does not expect the obligations of the poor to be the same as that of the rich.

The verse says:

“And We do not task a soul but to the extent of its ability, …”

The special attributes of the believers mentioned in the previous verses, that are the sources of all their good deeds, bring this question forth that not anyone can acquire such attributes nor all individuals have the ability of doing them. The verse implies that Allah never obliges a person to do more than his power and strength but He expects everyone to do as much as his intelligence and capability can accomplish. Divine duties and prescripts are in accordance with human strength and capability and whenever a duty exceeds one’s power, one becomes exempt from that duty and as the scholars of methodology say, this method governs all Islamic ordinances and is prior to them.

It might be asked how will the deeds, big or small, of all human beings be reckoned? The verse says:

“...and with Us is a Record which clearly speaks the truth, and they will not be dealt with unjustly.”

This refers to the Record in which all of man’s deeds are recorded and stands before Allah. It seems that this Record can speak and tell the truth in such a way that it is not possible to deny. Another probability is that this Record is the Protected Tablet (al Lawh ul Mahfuz); moreover, the Qur’anic phrase /ladayna/ (‘with Us’) confirms the latter interpretation. The verse, however, indicates the fact that every single deed of ours will be accurately recorded and none of them will be forgotten. Belief in this fact encourages the righteous to do good deeds and dissuades them from doing wrong.

The Qur’anic sentence ‘which speaks the truth' shows that the Record of man’s deeds is so plain and convincing that it does not need to be explained. As we have said before, it is as if the Record itself would speak and reiterate truths without the necessity of reading it. The Qur’anic sentence:

‘...they will not be dealt with unjustly.’

refers to the fact that there will be no injustice when people are punished or rewarded for their deeds which are recorded accurately.