Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:62

This is an initiated sentence preceded to incite [the listener] toward the acts of obedience described of those previously referred to, by clarifying their ease and the fact that they do not exceed the limit of capacity. Our established practice is that We do not charge any soul except that which is within its capacity and the extent of its power. This implies that the intended meaning is the continuity of the negation—aided by the context—not the negation of continuity. Or, it serves as a concession regarding that which falls short of the rank of the deeds of those [preceding ones], by clarifying that He, the Exalted, does not charge His servants except with what is in their capacity. Thus, if they do not reach the ranks of the forerunners in performing acts of obedience, there is no blame upon them after they have exerted their energy and exhausted their capacity. Muqatil said: "Whoever cannot stand, let him pray sitting; and whoever cannot sit, let him gesture."

This is a completion of what preceded it, by clarifying the states of the deeds they were charged with and the rulings resulting from them, such as reckoning, reward, and punishment. The "record" refers to the scrolls of deeds which they will read at the time of reckoning, as is indicated by the description. It is like His saying, the Exalted: "This, Our record, speaks about you in truth. Indeed, We were having transcribed whatever you used to do." The "truth" is that which corresponds to reality, and "speaking" with it is a metaphor for revealing it. That is, with Us is a record that reveals the truth corresponding to reality, as it is in its essence and attributes, and it makes it manifest to the viewer just as speech makes it manifest to the listener. Thus, the great deeds and the minute ones appear therein, and their recompenses are ordained accordingly: if good, then good; and if evil, then evil. It has been said that the "record" refers to scrolls they will read containing what has been established for them in the Preserved Tablet regarding their recompense; this is weaker than the first opinion. Weaker still is the claim that it refers to the Noble Quran.

This is to clarify His favor, the Exalted and Majestic, and His justice in recompense in the most perfect way, following the clarification of His kindness, the Exalted, in charging [them] and recording deeds exactly as they are. That is, they will not be wronged in recompense by the diminution of reward or the increase of punishment; rather, they are recompensed according to the measure of their deeds which they were charged with and which their scrolls spoke of in truth. It is also permissible that this is a confirmation of what preceded regarding the charging and the recording of deeds—that is, they are not wronged by being charged with what is not in their capacity, nor by the recording of some of their deeds—including the deeds of those who are not forerunners—based on their falling short of the degree of the deeds of the forerunners. Rather, each of them is recorded according to its proportions and ranks.