Surah Muhammad, Ayah 33

Nullifying the Disbelievers' Deeds and the Command to chase Them

Allah then informs about those who disbelieve, obstruct others from the path of Allah, oppose the Messenger and contend with him, and revert from the faith after guidance has become clear to them. He indicates that those people can never harm Allah in the least, and rather they only harm themselves and become losers on the Day of Resurrection. He will nullify their deeds. Allah will not reward them even the weight of a mosquito (i.e., the smallest thing) for any good that they did before their apostasy, but would instead totally invalidate and destroy it. Their apostasy wipes away their good deeds entirely, just as the good deeds would normally wipe away the evil deeds. Imam Ahmad Ibn Nasr Al-Marwazi reported in Kitab As-Salah (the Book of Prayer) that Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "The Prophet's Companions used to think that no sin would harm a person who says `La ilaha illallah,' just as no good deed would benefit a person who joins partners with Allah. So Allah revealed,

Commentary

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُ‌وا وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ (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.

When a man struggles for the cause of religion, he has to undergo different experiences, which are a test of his Faith: he must prove his steadfastness of belief by making sacrifices, crush his self, ignore his material interests, tolerate harassment; and remain steadfast in his devotion to God, even at the cost of his life and property. In order to place the believer in such circumstances, it is necessary for non-believers to have full freedom, so that they may indulge in all sorts of activities against the people of Faith. These activities, on the one hand, establish the guilt of opponents beyond doubt and, on the other, give the opportunity to the people of Faith to show that, by being steadfast in their Faith under the most trying circumstances, they are real believers and are entitled to be selected for the eternal afterlife in God’s ideal world.