Is the Verse “Man Shall Have Nothing But What He Strove For” Abrogated?

Question

[ar]لَيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ[/ar] “Man shall have nothing but what he strove for” (Surah al-Najm, 53:39, verse quoted in part). From this verse it follows that reward for a deed in which a person himself made no effort does not reach him. Is this verse abrogated, or has it been restricted (takhsis) by some hadith?

Answer

This is the doctrine of the Mu‘tazila, and it is precisely by this verse that they argue their case. Hafiz al-‘Ayni in “Sharh al-Hidaya” gave eight answers to this, and Ibn al-Qayyim in “Kitab al-Ruh” refuted the Mu‘tazila in great detail.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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