Al-Qur'an Surah An-Najm Verse 39

Mufti Taqi Usmani

and that a man shall not deserve but (the reward of) his own effort,

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

and that each person will only have what they endeavoured towards,

Ruwwad Translation Center

and that man will not receive except what he strives for,

A. J. Arberry

and that a man shall have to his account only as he has laboured,

Abdul Haleem

that man will only have what he has worked towards;

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And that for man shall be naught save that wherefor he endeavoureth.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That man can have nothing but what he strives for;

Abul Ala Maududi

and that man shall have nothing but what he has striven for,

Ahmed Ali

That a man receives but only that for which he strives;

Ahmed Raza Khan

And that man will not obtain anything except what he strove for?

Ali Quli Qarai

that nothing belongs to man except what he strives for,

Ali Ünal

And that human has only that for which he labors,

Amatul Rahman Omar

And that a human being will have (to his account) what he strives for.

English Literal

And that (E) (there is) not to the human except what he strived/endeavored .

Faridul Haque

And that man will not obtain anything except what he strove for?

Hamid S. Aziz

And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for,

Hilali & Khan

And that man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Or has he not been informed of what is in the scriptures of Moses,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for-

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And that man hath only that for which he maketh effort,

Muhammad Sarwar

nor can man achieve anything without hard labor.

Qaribullah & Darwish

and that everyone shall have in his account only that which he worked for,

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And that man can have nothing but what he does.

Wahiduddin Khan

and that man shall have only that for which he strives;

Talal Itani

And that the human being attains only what he strives for.

Tafsir jalalayn

and that (wa-an, to be understood as wa-annahu) man shall have only what he [himself] strives for, of good [deeds], and so he shall not have anything of [the reward for] good [deeds] striven for by another;

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

And that man can have nothing but what he does.

So just as no soul shall carry the burden of any other, the soul shall only benefit from the good that one earns for himself.

As for the Hadith recorded by Muslim in the Sahih, that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

إِذَا مَاتَ الاِْنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ ثَلَثٍ مِنْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِه

When a person dies, his deeds will cease except in three cases;-

- from a righteous son who invokes Allah for him, or

- an ongoing charity after his death, or

- knowledge that people benefit from.

These three things are, in reality, a result of one's own deeds, efforts and actions.

For example, a Hadith states,

إِنَّ أَطْيَبَ مَا أَكَلَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ كَسْبِهِ وَإِنَّ وَلَدَهُ مِنْ كَسْبِه

Verily, the best type of provision that one consumes is from what he himself has earned, and one's offspring are among what he has earned.

The ongoing charity that one leaves behind, like an endowment, for example, are among the traces of his own actions and deeds.

Allah the Exalted said,

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَاَ قَدَّمُواْ وَءَاثَارَهُمْ

Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them) and their traces. (36;12)

The knowledge that one spreads among people which they are guided by is among his actions and deeds.

A Hadith collected in the Sahih states,

مَنْ دَعَا إِلَى هُدًى كَانَ لَهُ مِنَ الاَْجْرِ مِثْلُ أُجُورِ مَنِ اتَّبَعَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْيًا

Whoever invites to guidance, he will earn as much reward as those who follow him, without decreasing anything out of their own rewards.

Allah said,

وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى