Surah Al-Ghashiyah — Verse 3

Word Meanings:

• ʿĀmilatun (عامِلَةٌ): Working, laboring, or performing deeds.
• Nāṣibatun (ناصِبَةٌ): Exhausted, weary, or toiling with great fatigue.

Tafsir (Explanation):

On the Day of Judgment, the faces of the disbelievers will be humiliated and cast down, and among them are those who will be working and exhausted — meaning they will be engaged in painful, futile labor in the Fire. They will be dragged by heavy chains and shackled with iron collars, their bodies strained and their souls tormented. This is the recompense for their arrogance in the worldly life, where they refused to submit to Allah and to work for His sake with sincerity and obedience. Because they were too proud to perform righteous deeds in the world, Allah will make them toil in the Fire of the Hereafter, where their labor will bring them no benefit, no rest, and no reward — only ever-increasing punishment and despair.

This verse serves as a profound reminder that the deeds of this life are not lost; they are either a means of elevation or a cause of ruin. The believer who strives in obedience to Allah, even with hardship, will find rest and honor in the Hereafter. But the one who turns away, consumed by pride and worldly pursuits, will find only exhaustion and regret. Let this be an invitation to every soul: turn to your Lord now, while the door of repentance is open, and let your labor in this world be for that which truly lasts — the pleasure of Allah and the gardens of eternal bliss. For the Fire is real, and its toil is beyond imagination, but the mercy of Allah is greater still for those who seek it with a sincere heart.