َ عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ وَأَخَّرَتْ ﴿۵﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ ﴿۶﴾ الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ ﴿۷﴾ فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ رَكَّبَكَ ﴿۸﴾ كَلَّا بَلْ تُكَذِّبُونَ بِالدِّينِ ﴿۹﴾ وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ ﴿۱۰﴾ كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ ﴿۱۱﴾ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿۱۲﴾ إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ ﴿۱۳﴾ وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ ﴿۱۴﴾

﴾5﴿ Alimat nafsum maa qaddamat wa akhkharat
﴾6﴿ Yaaa ayyuhal insaaanu maa gharraka bi Rabbikal kareem
﴾7﴿ Allazee khalaqaka fasaw waaka fa'adalak
﴾8﴿ Feee ayye sooratim maa shaaa'a rakkabak
﴾9﴿ Kalla bal tukazziboona bid deen
﴾10﴿ Wa inna 'alaikum lahaa fizeen
﴾11﴿ Kiraaman kaatibeen
﴾12﴿ Ya'lamoona ma taf'aloon
﴾13﴿ Innal abraara lafee na'eem
﴾14﴿ Wa innal fujjaara lafee jaheem

﴾5﴿ Every soul will know what it has sent forward and what it has left behind
﴾6﴿ O human! What has deceived you concerning your noble Lord
﴾7﴿ Such is He who created you, then shaped you, then balanced you, and made you upright
﴾8﴿ In whatever form He willed, He fashioned you
﴾9﴿ No! Rather, you deny the Day of Judgment
﴾10﴿ And indeed, over you are appointed guardian angels
﴾11﴿ Noble recording scribes
﴾12﴿ They know whatever you do
﴾13﴿ Indeed, the righteous will surely be in bliss
﴾14﴿ And indeed, the wicked will surely be in the Fire

[5] This is the fifth state and the response to (إِذَا), and it is the central claim of the surah.
(عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ) — the difference between this and Surah At-Takwīr is that there, detailed knowledge is intended, because the spreading and distribution of the scrolls are mentioned, and through that, full detailed awareness is achieved.
Here, general knowledge is intended.
The second difference is that in Surah At-Takwīr, the knowledge refers to the reality of one’s deeds — whether good or bad — while here, it refers to the knowledge of recompense, accountability, and the consequences of one’s actions.
(مَا قَدَّمَتْ) — refers to good deeds that one sent forth.
(وَأَخَّرَتْ) — refers to bad deeds that one left behind.
[6] This is a severe rebuke, and it will be said to them on the Day of Judgment — meaning, when they are informed of the recompense for their deeds, they will regret it deeply.
It will be said to them: "What deceived you?" — meaning in the world.
Or, this address is in the worldly life directed to every sinful person — whether a disbeliever or a sinful Muslim.
(مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ) — the deception refers to disbelief, polytheism, denial, and committing sins under various false assumptions:
— that Allah does not punish quickly,
— that His attribute is Most Forgiving and Merciful,
— that Allah is unaware of one’s condition,
— that Allah cannot fulfill every need,
— or that because Allah is Most Generous, He will overlook everything.
[7,8] These two verses detail the generosity of Allah the Exalted.
(خَلَقَكَ) — refers to creating the human from dust and a drop of fluid, as mentioned in Surah ʿAbasa.
(فَسَوَّاكَ) — means He shaped you with complete limbs: hands, feet, eyes, and so on, in balanced proportion.
(فَعَدَلَكَ) — in the lighter reading, it means: O human, He formed you in whatever shape and form Allah willed. Or if read with the meaning of tashdīd (intensification), it means He made your height, body, and limbs well-proportioned — neither too tall nor too short.
(فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ) — in whatever form He willed: whether beautiful or unattractive, black, white, wheat-colored, male or female, resembling the father or the mother.
[9] This is the second rebuke and an explanation of (مَا غَرَّكَ) — meaning, the deception is that you deny the truth.
[10,11,12] This is an intensified form of rebuke — that despite such angels being appointed over you, you still persist in denial.
(لَحَافِظِينَ) — refers to angels who record human actions, or general guardians over them.
(يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ) — this indicates that these angels are aware of actions that are actually carried out, but not of hidden intentions or inner thoughts that do not manifest as action.
The general address (ʿalaykum) shows that these angels are assigned to everyone — including disbelievers and even the prophets (peace be upon them).
[13,14,15] After mentioning the recording of deeds (which are of two types), two types of doers are mentioned — one group is given glad tidings, and the other is warned of the punishment of the Hereafter.
(لَفِي نَعِيمٍ) — refers to the countless blessings of Paradise. Ibn al-Qayyim wrote in Badā’iʿ at-Tafsīr that this state applies in all three stages: the world, Barzakh, and the Day of Judgment.
In the world, naʿīm refers to the blessings of contentment and peace of heart.
Likewise, both interpretations apply to (لَفِي جَحِيمٍ) as well.
(بِغَائِبِينَ) — means that they will never be absent from Hell, not even for a moment; neither death nor comfort will come to them.