Transliteration:( In takfuroo fa innal laaha ghaniyyun 'ankum; wa laa yardaa li'ibaadihil kufra wa in tashkuroo yardahu lakum; wa laa taziru waaziratunw wizra ukhraa; summa ilaa Rabikum marji'ukum fa-yunabbi'ukum bimaa kuntum ta'maloon; innahoo 'aleemum bizaatissudoor )
"If you are ungrateful, then surely, Allah is Self-Sufficient [24], and He does not like the infidels [25] amongst His devotees. But if you are grateful [26] to Him, then He likes it in you. And no soul shall bear the burden of another [27]. Then to your Lord is your return. And He will inform you of what you used to do. Indeed, He Knows well the secrets of the hearts."
If people choose ingratitude or disbelief, it causes no harm to Allah, for He is Al-Ghani (Self-Sufficient).
Worship and gratitude do not increase His kingdom, and disobedience does not reduce it.
Rather, it is humans who depend on Allah, while He remains completely independent and free from all need.
The word "His devotees" here refers to both believers and non-believers.
Allah does not like disbelief or ingratitude, because these are not just rejections of faith but acts harmful to human character and destiny.
Even among humans, ingratitude is disliked, as it leads to arrogance, denial of favors, and eventual ruin.
If one chooses gratitude, then it is something that Allah appreciates.
This indicates that divine approval is distinct from human intention.
Disbelief may occur by human choice, but it is never approved by Allah—even if allowed as a matter of free will.
Gratitude, on the other hand, is not only a good intention but a beloved act in the sight of Allah.
Each soul is responsible for its own deeds.
No one will willingly take on the sins of another so that the guilty may go free.
Yes, those who mislead others will carry their own burden and a portion of the burden of those they misled, as Allah says:
“Undoubtedly, they shall bear their burdens, and along with their burdens, other burdens” (Surah 29: Verse 13).
However, this does not negate personal accountability.
Even if someone caused misguidance, the person who followed them willingly is also responsible.
There is no contradiction between this verse and related Hadith; rather, the meanings complement each other in clarity and justice.
7. If you disbelieve, then verily, Allah is not in need of you; He likes not disbelief for His servants. And if you are grateful, He is pleased therewith for you. No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you what you used to do. Verily, He is the All-Knower of that which is in breasts. 8. And when some hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord, turning to Him in repentance. But when He bestows a favor upon him from Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before, and he sets up rivals to Allah, in order to mislead others from His path. Say: “Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while, surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!”
Allah tells us that He is Independent and has no need of anything in creation. This is like the Ayah in which Musa, peace be upon him, says:
(“If you disbelieve, you and all on earth together, then verily, Allah is Rich, Owner of all praise.”) (14:8). In Sahih Muslim, it says:
(“O My servants, if the first and the last of you, men and Jinn alike, were all to be as evil as the most evil man among you, that would not diminish from My sovereignty in the least.”)
(He likes not disbelief for His servants.) means, He does not like it and He does not enjoin it.
(And if you are grateful, He is pleased therewith for you.) means: He likes this for you and He will increase His favor upon you.
(No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. ) means, no person can bear anything for another; each person will be asked about his own affairs.
(Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you what you used to do. Verily, He is the All-Knower of that which is in breasts.) means, nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him.
(And when some hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord, turning to Him in repentance.) means, at times of need, he prays to Allah and seeks His help alone, not associating anything with Him. This is like the Ayah:
(And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish from you except Him. But when He brings you safe to land, you turn away. And man is ever ungrateful.) (17:67). Allah says:
(But when He bestows a favor upon him from Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before,) means, at the time of ease, he forgets that supplication and prayer. This is like the Ayah:
(And when harm touches man, he invokes Us, lying on his side, or sitting or standing. But when We have removed his harm from him, he passes on as if he had never invoked Us for a harm that touched him!) (10:12).
(and he sets up rivals to Allah, in order to mislead others from His path.) means, at times of ease, he associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him.
(Say: “Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while, surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!”) means, say to those whose way this is, `enjoy your disbelief for a while!’ This is a stern threat and solemn warning, as in the Ayat:
(Say: “Enjoy! But certainly, your destination is the Fire!”) (14:30).
(We let them enjoy for a little while, then in the end We shall oblige them to (enter) a great torment.) (31:24)
(39:7) If you disbelieve, know well that Allah has no need of you.[19] Yet He does not like unbelief in His servants.[20] But if you are thankful, your thankfulness will please Him.[21] No one shall bear another’s burden.[22] You are destined to return to your Lord and He will tell you what you used to do. He is well aware even of what lies hidden in your breasts.
19. That is, your disbelief cannot cause any decrease or deficiency in His Kingdom. He will be God if you believe in Him, and He will still be God if you deny Him. He is ruling over His Kingdom by His own power. Your believing or denying Him does not affect His Sovereignty in any way. According to Hadith (Muslim), Allah says: O My servants, if all of you, the former and the latter, the men and the jinns, become like the heart of a most sinful person among you, it will cause no deficiency whatever in My Kingdom.
20. That is, He does not approve, not for any interest of His own but for the interest and benefit of the servants themselves that they should disbelieve, for disbelief is harmful for them. Here, one should bear in mind the fact that Allah’s will is one thing and His approval and pleasure another. Nothing in the world can happen against Allah’s will, but many things can happen against His approval, and are happening day and night. For example, the dominance of the tyrants and the wicked in the world, the existence of thieves and robbers, the presence of murderers and adulterers, are possible only because Allah has made room for the occurrence of these evils and the existence of these criminals in the scheme of things ordained by Him. Then He provides opportunities also of committing evil just as He provides opportunities to the good of doing good. Had He made no room for these evils and had provided no opportunities of committing wrongs to the evildoers, no evil would have ever occurred in the world. All this is based on Allah’s will. But the occurrence of an act under divine will does not mean that Allah’s approval also goes with it. This may be explained by an example. If a person tries to obtain his living only by lawful means, Allah provides him his living through those means. This is His will. But providing for the thief or the robber or the corrupt person under the will does not mean that Allah also likes stealing and robbery and taking of bribes. Allah says the same thing here, as if to say: If you want to disbelieve, you may do so. We will not stop you from this nor make you believe forcibly. But We do not approve that you should deny your Creator and Provider, being His servants, for it is harmful for yourselves. Our Godhead is not harmed and affected by it in any way.
21. The word shukr (gratitude) has been used here as against kufr (disbelief) instead of Iman (belief). This by itself shows that kufr is, in fact, ingratitude and disloyalty, and faith is the necessary requirement of gratitude. The person who has any feeling of the favors of Allah Almighty, cannot adopt any other way than that of belief and faith. Therefore, gratitude and faith are correlatives. Wherever there is gratitude there will be faith also. On the contrary, wherever there is disbelief, there will be no question of gratitude at all, for gratitude along with disbelief is meaningless.
22. It means this: Each one of you is himself responsible for his deeds. If a person adopts disbelief in order to please others, or to avoid their displeasure, those others will never bear the burden of his disbelief, but will leave him to bear his own burden. Therefore, anyone who comes to know that disbelief is wrong and belief is right, should give up the wrong attitude and adopt the right attitude, and avoid making himself liable for Allah’s punishment by associating himself with his family or brotherhood or nation.
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