Surah 54

Surah 54:53

"and every small and great (deed) is inscribed."
A Warning to beware of Allah's Threats Verses 54:50-53
Show Full Scripture Context (54:50-53) — 4 Verses
Verse 50

وَمَآ أَمۡرُنَآ إِلَّا وَٰحِدَةٞ كَلَمۡحِۭ بِٱلۡبَصَرِ

and Our command is but a single (act), like a blink of the eye.

Verse 51

وَلَقَدۡ أَهۡلَكۡنَآ أَشۡيَاعَكُمۡ فَهَلۡ مِن مُّدَّكِرٖ

Certainly We have destroyed your parties (before), yet (is there) anyone who takes heed?

Verse 52

وَكُلُّ شَيۡءٖ فَعَلُوهُ فِي ٱلزُّبُرِ

Everything they have done is in the scriptures,

Verse 53

وَكُلُّ صَغِيرٖ وَكَبِيرٖ مُّسۡتَطَرٌ

and every small and great (deed) is inscribed.

Allah said,

And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye.

This is information about the execution of His will in His creation, just as He informed us the execution of His decree in them,

And Our commandment is but one

meaning, We only command a thing once, without needing to repeat the command; and whatever We command comes to existence faster than the blinking of an eye without any delay, not even for an instant.' Allah said,

And indeed, We have destroyed your likes, i.e. the earlier nations who denied their Messengers,

then is there any that will remember? meaning, is there any that will receive admonition by remembering the humiliation and torment that Allah decreed for them?

And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire, as was done in the past with the people of their kind.

Allah's statement,

And everything they have done is noted in Az-Zubur.

meaning, everything they did is recorded in the Books of Record entrusted to the angels, peace be upon them,

And everything, small and large, meaning, of their actions,

is written down. everything that they do is recorded and written in their Record of deeds, which leave nothing, whether large or small, but it is recorded and counted.

Imam Ahmad recorded that 'A'ishah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

"O 'A'ishah! Beware of small sins, because there is someone assigned by Allah who records them."

An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah also collected this Hadith.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 9, Page 372-373)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.