Muhammad 47:31–37

حَتَّىٰ نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ مِنكُمْ (...until We know those of you who carry out Jihad,... - 47:31) Allah's knowledge of every person’ s works and deeds is all-encompassing and eternal. It may be noted here that knowledge is of two kinds: [ i ] a priori knowledge or fore-knowledge, knowledge about a thing before its occurrence; and [ ii ] a posteriori knowledge or –in Mariam knowledge, knowledge about a thing after it has actually happened. Here knowledge refers to the second category. Allah’ s knowledge of things is since eternity. In this context, the knowledge about things is a posterioi, after the occurrence of the events in the external world. (ibn kathir) (The purport of this part of the verse is that Allah has enjoined fighting on the believers so that sincere believers may become distinguished from the hypocrites who shrink in horror at the very thought of fighting). Allah knows best.

Commentary

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (Those who disbelieve and prevent (others) from Allah's way ... - 47:32) This verse also refers to the hypocrites, and the Jewish tribes of Banu Quraizah and Banu Nadir. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that this verse refers to those hypocrites who, on the occasion of the battle of Badr, joined forces with the infidels of Quraysh and helped them in such a way that twelve men of the two tribes took upon themselves the responsibility of feeding the entire army. Each one of the twelve men took turns to organize meal for the enemy camp on different days.

وَسَيُحْبِطُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ (...and He will render their deeds vain - 47:32) Habt-ul-a` mal (rendering deeds vain) could have one of the two meanings: [ i ] their efforts to undermine Islam would be unsuccessful and fail as explained in the foregoing commentary of this verse; and [ ii ] on account of their disbelief and hypocrisy, their good deeds –such as charity, free will offerings, philanthropic activities and so on - will all be rendered void and will not be acceptable.

لَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ and do not nullify Qur'an has employed the phrase ibtal ul-a'male instead of habt ul-a'mal because the scope of the former phrase is much wider than the latter phrase, because ibtal-ul-a'mal may be interpreted in two ways: In the one case it takes place on account of disbelief which was described in the foregoing verse by the phrase habt-ul-a` mal because no action of a die-hard infidel is ever acceptable on account of disbelief. If anyone embraced Islam and later abandoned it, all his good actions performed during the days of Islam will be rendered vain albeit good works of the days of Islam are acceptable. The good works, in this case, will be made vain because of the subsequent disbelief and apostasy.

The other case of ibtal-ul-a'mal is that the acceptability of some righteous deeds is sometimes conditional upon other righteous acts. If the condition is not fulfilled, the righteous deeds will be rendered fruitless. For example, for every righteous action to be acceptable, the necessary condition is that it must be performed exclusively and sincerely for Allah. It must not be performed to make an ostentatious display to people. Let us take a few examples of this rule from the Qur'an: In [ 98:5] we read:

وَمَا أُمِرُ‌وا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ

"They were commanded only to worship Allah, making their submission sincere for Him, (98:5) ".

On another occasion in the Qur'an [ 39:3] we read:

أَلَا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ

"Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion" [ 39:3].

This goes to show that all good works - to be acceptable - must be done with the sincerity of heart and honesty of purpose. Otherwise they will be rendered void by Allah. On a third occasion in the Qur'an [ 2:264] we read: لَا تُبْطِلُوا صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالْأَذَىٰ "0 those who believe, do not nullify your charities by boasting about favour, and teasing (2:264) ". This shows that giving charity to a needy person and then following it up by demands of gratitude or insulting words or hurting him in some other way will only nullify his charitable act. This probably could be the meaning of what Hasan Basri (رح) has said when interpreting this verse: "Do not render vain your own good works by means of sins." Although the apparent sense of this statement is that if one commits a sin, all his good deeds are nullified, yet this being against the well-established position, its real purpose cannot be other than it refers only to those sins that are relevant to a particular virtuous act and which nullify that particular act only. It is similar to what Ibn Jurayj has said to explain this verse: " (Do not nullify your virtuous acts) by doing them only to show off and to win a good name among the people." Likewise, Muqatil and others have explained it by saying: bil-manni, that is, (Do not nullify your deeds) by boasting about your favour. Otherwise, according to the unanimity of ahl-us-sunnah wal jamaah, no sin - not even a major sin other than kufr or shirk -- can destroy the righteous acts of a believer. For example, if a believer, who performs his prayer regularly and keeps his fasts, were to steal something, the sacred law does not declare his prayers and fasts null and void or demand him to repeat them. Therefore, in the statement of Hasan Basri (رح) the word 'sins' refers only to those sins refraining from which is a necessary condition for the acceptability of good works. For example, the acceptability of good works, it is necessary to refrain from riya', that is, to avoid showing off or making an ostentatious display of accomplishments. Moreover, it is also possible that Hasan Bari statement regarding refers to the deprivation of the blessings of righteous works, and not to the absolute nullification of a righteous work itself. This may apply to all types of sin in the sense that if a believer's sins are much more than his good deeds, the few good deeds that he has to his credit will be devoid of the blessing that may save him from the punishment of his sins. According to the rule of retribution, he will be punished first for his sins and finally through the virtue of his faith he will attain salvation and be admitted into the gardens of Paradise.

Ruling:

If a believer starts a nafl (an act of worship that is not obligatory), and then deliberately disrupts it before its completion, this too is deemed by Imam Abu Hanifah as nullifying the deed, and is impermissible according to him. Therefore, if a person commences righteous acts that were initially not compulsory or obligatory, their completion, according to this interpretation of the verse, becomes obligatory. Otherwise he would be committing ibtal-ul-a'mal [ nullification of actions ]. If anyone does this without a legitimate reason or nullifies them purposely, he would be a sinner, and it would be obligatory for him to make qada' for such nullification. According to Imam Shafi` i, neither he is a sinner nor is it obligatory for him to make qada'. His argument is that the act was not initially compulsory or obligatory, therefore its abandonment or nullification would not entail a sin. Hanafis are that the wordings of the current verse are general in their scope embracing all righteous acts, whether obligatory or supererogatory. Therefore, if a supererogatory act is initiated, its completion becomes obligatory. On this occasion, in Tafsir Mazhari, a large number of ahadith are quoted and the issue is discussed in detail.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ مَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ‌ (Those who disbelieve and prevent (others) from Allah's way, Allah will never forgive them...- 47:34): verse [ 32] has a similar warning in similar words. The present verse [ 34] seems to repeat almost the same warning. But the difference is probably that verse 32 describes the loss of the infidels in this world, and the current verse describes their loss in the next world as indicated in the commentary. It is also possible that in the earlier verse the reference was to infidels in general which included those people who embraced Islam later on. The ruling regarding them was that all the good works which they had done in the state of disbelief would go to waste. Even after embracing Islam they would not be rewarded for them. The current verse refers in particular to those infidels who persisted in their disbelief and idolatry until their dying day. The ruling regarding them is that Allah will never forgive them in the next world. Allah knows best.

فَلَا تَهِنُوا وَتَدْعُوا إِلَى السَّلْمِ (So, do not lose heart, and do not appeal - 47:35". This verse prohibits the Muslims to invite the infidels to enter into peace treaty. But on another occasion in the Qur'an such a treaty is allowed: وَإِن جَنَحُوا لِلسَّلْمِ فَاجْنَحْ لَهَا And if they tilt towards peace, towards it..." (8:61). This verse indicates that if the infidels want peace, it is permissible to enter into peace agreement with them. Therefore, some scholars think that the permission in this verse is conditional upon the assumption that the infidels take initiative for peace negotiations. The current verse prohibits the Muslims from taking initiative for peace. Thus there is no conflict between the two verses. However, the authentic ruling is that it is permissible for Muslims even to take initiative in negotiating peace with the infidels if it could be in the best interest of the Muslims - not by reason of cowardice and involvement in a life of luxury. The Qur’ an by the employment of the imperative sentence fala-tahinu [ do not lose heart ] in this verse indicates that the prohibition is meant for such an appeal for peace that is based on cowardice and escaping from Jihad. In this case too there is no conflict between the two verses, because the direction of tending to peace in verse 9:61 is restricted to a situation where it is based on the interest of the Muslims, and not on cowardice or leisure. Allah knows best.

وَلَن يَتِرَ‌كُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ (...and He will never deprive you of your deeds...47:35) It means that Allah will not diminish the reward of the believers. This indicates that if they were to suffer any pain or loss in this world, they wi11 receive a huge reward in the next world. Thus a believer is never unsuccessful even in the face of pain or difficulty.

إِنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا (The worldly life is but play and pastime - 47:36.) As Muslims have been enjoined to fight in the cause of Allah, they will, for this purpose, have to make sacrifices of life and money. But the love of this world is the only thing that can prevent man from fighting. In this verse we are told that neither of these mundane benefits is permanent. After all, they all will perish and come to an end. Even if we succeed in saving them for now, they will be lost another time. The bounties of the next world are permanent and eternal: the believers need to develop love for them - not for the perishable things of this ephemeral world.

وَلَا يَسْأَلْكُمْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ (...and will not ask you your riches... 47:36). The apparent meaning of this verse is that Allah does not demand or urge you to hand over your wealth. But the Qur'an is replete with verses relating to payment of zakah, charities and spending wealth in the way of Allah. Even in the next verse, the reader is emphatically called upon to expend in Allah's way. Thus there appears to be conflict between these verses. Some scholars resolve the conflict by saying that the present verse means that Allah does not need their money for His benefit, but it is for their own benefit that sacrifices of life and money are demanded.

Earlier in this very verse, it has been declared expressly: يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَ‌كُمْ (… He will give you your rewards, (47:36)”. The believers are required to spend in Allah's way which will help them in the Hereafter where they will need their righteous works most pressingly. That is where they will be rewarded. This interpretation of the verse has been preferred by Maulana Thanawi رحمۃ اللہ علیہ . A verse of identical meaning is مَا أُرِ‌يدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّ‌زْقٍ (I do not desire [ to receive ] any provision from them, nor do I desire that they should feed Me…51:57)

Other scholars, however, assign another meaning to the words, "and will not ask you your riches". They say that "asking your riches" means to demand all of one's wealth. Their argument is that this clause needs to be read in conjunction with the next verse [ 37] lwhich says, إِن يَسْأَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ (If He were to ask you of it, and were to press you,…) the word yuhfi is derived from ihfa which means to pursue a work persistently and insistently until it is accomplished. All scholars agree that the meaning of verse [ 37] is that if Allah demands for all of their wealth, they would become niggardly and acting upon this injunction would displease them. The displeasure would become visible at the time of expending. To sum up: the meaning of verse [ 36] is the same as verse [ 37]. The general meaning of the former verse is restricted by the latter verse. The meaning of these two verses is as follows: The pecuniary obligations, such as zaka that Allah has imposed on the believers is for their own benefit – Allah does not need their money or wealth. Further, Allah, through His grace and compassion, has imposed a nominal percentage for expending. For example, only 1/40th = 2.5% for zakah, 1/10th = 10% or 1/20th = 5% for agricultural produce, and one goat out of every hundred goats, have been imposed. Thus it is clear that Allah is not demanding for all of our wealth because that would be displeasing and a burden and it would weigh heavily on us. In fact, He has asked for so little of our wealth that we should discharge our obligation readily and happily. The concluding clause in verse [ 37] يُخْرِ‌جْ أَضْغَانَكُمْ ”...you would show miserliness, and He would expose your grudges." contains the word adghan which is the plural of dighn. It refers to secret malice, grudge or hatred. Naturally, man feels unhappy to part with all of his wealth. Even if he does not express his unhappiness openly, he would procrastinate at the time of payment. Procrastination would disclose his unhappiness. In short, if Allah had demanded from people all of their wealth, they would be tight-fisted and because of tight-fistedness their hearts will harbor rancour, malice and spite against spending in the cause of Allah which would be exposed. Therefore, He has imposed upon their wealth a small and nominal percentage to expend in the cause of Allah, but people are niggardly even in this case. This is what the Qur'an says in the last verse: