Tafsir

Which was revealed in Al-Madinahبِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Reward of the Disbelievers and the Believers Allah says,الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ(Those who disbelieve) meaning, in the Ayat of Allah.وَصُدُّواْ(and hinder (men)) Others.عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَضَلَّ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ(from the path of Allah, He will render their deeds vain.) meaning, He renders their deeds vain and futile, and He denies them any rewards or blessings for them. This is similar to His saying,وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً (And We will approach what they have done of deeds and make them as dispersed dust.) (25:23) Allah then says,وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ(And those who believe and do righteous good deeds,) Which means that their hearts and souls have believed, and their limbs and their hidden and apparent acts have complied with Allah's Law.وَءَامَنُواْ بِمَا نُزِّلَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ(And believe in that which has been sent down to Muhammad) Adding this statement to the previous one is a method of adding a specific meaning to a general one.

This provides proof that after Muhammad's advent, believing in him is a required condition for the true faith. Allah then says,وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ(For it is the truth from their Lord.) which is a beautifully placed parenthetical clause. Thus, Allah says,كَفَّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَـتِهِمْ وَأَصْلَحَ بَالَهُمْ(He expiates from them their sins and amends their Bal.) Ibn `Abbas, said, "This means their matter." Mujahid said, "This means their affair." Qatadah and Ibn Zayd both said, "Their condition." And all of these are similar in meaning.

It has been mentioned (from the Prophet ) in the Hadith of the responding to one who sneezes,«يَهْدِيكُمُ اللهُ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَكُم»(May Allah guide you and rectify your (Bal) affairs.) Then Allah says,ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ اتَّبَعُواْ الْبَـطِلَ(That is because those who disbelieve follow falsehood,) meaning, `We only invalidate the deeds of the disbelievers and overlook the sins of the righteous, and amend their affairs, because those who disbelieve follow false- hood.' Meaning, they choose falsehood over the truth.وَأَنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّبَعُواْ الْحَقَّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ كَذَلِكَ يَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ أَمْثَـلَهُمْ(while those who believe follow the truth from their Lord. Thus does Allah set forth for the people their parables.) Thus He makes the consequence of their actions clear to them, and He shows them where they will end in their next life -- and Allah knows best.

وَآمَنُوا بِمَا نُزِّلَ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ…and believed in that which is revealed to Muhammad …(47:2)Although the previous sentence has referred to faith and righteous deeds which includes faith in the messenger-ship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the revelation that was sent down to him, this sentence specifies explicitly the fact that the actual basis of faith is to embrace all the teachings of the Last Holy Prophet ﷺ .

The word " بال (bal) in وَأَصْلَحَ بَالَهُمْ "…and will set aright their state of affairs..(47:2) " is sometimes used in the sense of state of affairs and condition, and at other times in the sense of heart. Here it could refer to both the senses. In the first sense, it means that Allah has set all their affairs aright, that is, He has set aright all their matters of this world and of the Hereafter. In the second sense, it would mean that Allah has improved their hearts. This also has the same implication, that is, corrected all their works, because correction of works is a logical result of improvement of heart, both being necessary to each other.

ذلك الإضلال والهدى سببه أن الذين كفروا اتَّبَعوا الشيطان فأطاعوه، وأن الذين آمنوا اتَّبَعوا الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وما جاء به من النور والهدى، كما بيَّن الله تعالى فِعْلَه بالفريقين أهل الكفر وأهل الإيمان بما يستحقان يضرب سبحانه للناس أمثالهم، فيلحق بكل قوم من الأمثال والأشكال ما يناسبه.

ثم قال تعالى : ( ذلك بأن الذين كفروا اتبعوا الباطل ) أي : إنما أبطلنا أعمال الكفار ، وتجاوزنا عن سيئات الأبرار ، وأصلحنا شئونهم ; لأن الذين كفروا اتبعوا الباطل ، أي : اختاروا الباطل على الحق ، ( وأن الذين آمنوا اتبعوا الحق من ربهم كذلك يضرب الله للناس أمثالهم ) أي : يبين لهم مآل أعمالهم ، وما يصيرون إليه في معادهم .