The 365 · Verses · Day 266 · Justice
He settles every debt of gratitude first, then gives for God alone.
وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِندَهُۥ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَىٰٓ
“Not to return a favour to anyone, (Quran 92:19)”
92:19 Read 92:19 with tafsir
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The story
The previous āyah praised the one who gives to purify himself; this one guards that purity from a subtle corruption. As-Saʿdī explains the meaning: no creature holds an unpaid favor over this God-conscious giver - whatever kindness he received, he has already repaid, so that nothing he does is tainted by the wish to return an obligation or win favor. His deeds become purely for Allah. As-Saʿdī draws the sharp contrast: a person who still owes people an unrequited favor will inevitably bend toward them, doing what pleases them at the cost of his sincerity. Both he and Ibn Kathīr note the āyah's connection to Abū Bakr, who, they say, let no one hold a claim of gratitude over him - not even the Prophet ﷺ, except the one unrepayable debt of being guided to Islam. Ibn Kathīr recalls that at Ḥudaybiyyah, ʿUrwah ibn Masʿūd, chief of Thaqīf, acknowledged that it was he who owed Abū Bakr an unrepaid favor, saying that were it not for that debt he would have answered Abū Bakr's retort in kind. Even a pagan adversary conceded the claim ran the other way: Abū Bakr owed him nothing. Here justice shows a rarer face: the discipline of owing no one. The just soul keeps its accounts with people settled so that its giving is free - unbought, unbending, answerable to God alone rather than to any creditor of the heart.
In the language
The clause turns on niʿmah tujzā - 'a favor to be repaid.' As-Saʿdī unpacks tujzā as recompense that has already been rendered: this giver holds no bounty from anyone that he has not already matched, so no thread of obligation pulls at his intention. What is striking is the sweep of the negation - wa mā li-aḥadin, 'not for anyone.' As-Saʿdī reads it as total: not a single creature retains a claim of gratitude over him. Ibn Kathīr fills the same phrase with the example of Abū Bakr, over whom no one held an unrepaid claim: even ʿUrwah ibn Masʿūd conceded that he was the one in Abū Bakr's debt, not the reverse. The phrasing of the āyah, then, is the phrasing of a cleared ledger: an absolute 'no one' placed before the idea of repayment. Sincerity, in this reading, is not only about whom you give to but about whom you no longer owe - the self must be free of debts of the heart before its charity can be wholly for Allah.
Why this verse
Justice is not only paying what you owe - it is refusing to be bought by what others owe you. When no favor can bend you, your giving belongs to God, and your fairness cannot be purchased.
Bring it into today
Think about the invisible ledger of favors in your life. Who has done you a kindness that you have quietly let become leverage over you - a boss, a relative, a friend whose past help now steers your choices? As-Saʿdī warns that an unrepaid favor bends you toward people at the expense of your sincerity. So do two things. First, repay what you can, so that no one holds a claim that compromises your fairness. Second, when you give or judge or decide, ask whether you are acting for Allah or to protect a debt of gratitude. A just person keeps their accounts with people clear precisely so their conscience stays free. This week, identify one 'favor' that has been quietly influencing you, and settle it - with thanks, with repayment, or with an honest conversation - so your next good deed is truly yours to give.
A reflection to carry
There is a freedom most never seek: owing no one. We measure justice by what we pay out, but this āyah names a quieter fairness - refusing to let another's past kindness own us. As-Saʿdī says the unrepaid favor bends the soul toward people, and sincerity leaks through that bend. Abū Bakr, they note, would not even let a man imply he was owed. Whose approval do you court because of a kindness they once did? To settle those debts is not coldness - it clears the ground so your giving can stand upright, answerable to God alone.
Sources: Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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