O You Who Believe

68)

"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds."

[Al-Muhammad 47:33]

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,

"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds."

This made them fear that some sins could nullify their deeds.'' It has also been reported from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said, "We, the Companions of Allah's Messenger, used to think that good deeds would all be accepted, until Allah revealed this verse.

So we asked each other: 'What is it that can nullify our deeds' So we said, 'The major sins, great offenses that require admission into the Fire and immoral sins.' But then Allah revealed,

"Verily, Allah does not forgive joining partners with Him in worship, but He forgives except that to whom He wills."

[Surah Nisaa 4:48]

After this was revealed, we ceased saying that. We thereafter continued to fear for those who committed great sins and immoral sins and to have hope for those who did not.''

Allah commands His believing servants to obey Him and His Messenger, which would result in their happiness in this worldly life and the Hereafter. He also prohibits them from apostasy, because that would result in the nullification of their deeds in this life and their doom in the Next Life.

"O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered."

[Surah Anfal 8:24]

By 'life' in this verse, Allah means 'the eternal life' which is the Hereafter. It is our true belief that Allah is the Knower, Creator and Sustainer of the universe and hence, who could be more aware of what's better for mankind and what's not other than Him? Allah gave mankind free will to choose between good and bad, truth and deceit but He didn't just leave the mankind without any guidance. Qur'an, which was betided in series upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) contains a complete set of instructions and divine guidance from the Creator, Knower and Sustainer of the universe and everything in it.

Allah calls the believers to the light and the truth so that He can welcome them into gardens of peace in the Akhirah and bless them with the eternal life. The direct guidance bestowed by Allah to us humans is to reply to the call of, or to obey the Prophet of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) to achieve the eternal life of Akhirah. This verse is a compilation of all other such 'O you who believe' verses as it compiles the other commands of Allah and serves as a bag to enclose all such verses.

To obey Allah and His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) is indirectly the most vital command in the Qur'an since all other commandments are born from it.

To obey Allah's Words means to obey the Qur'an and to obey Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) means to obey hadith (sacred words of Prophet Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wasallam). Hence this verse also highlights the importance of Qur'an and hadith in a believer's life.

Sometimes, while a person is unaware, he can be losing or invalidating his precious good deeds in small and unrealisable ways. Allah navigates such people to save them from invalidation of their deeds by giving them the key guidance, which is to obey Allah and His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam). In this way, not only does obeying Allah and His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) gives us the eternal life in the gardens of Akhirah, it also saves our deeds from nullifying.

Hence, the key to conquering life as a khalifah and entering the eternal abode of Paradise is to obey Allah and His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) and to not go against them which directly leads to invalidation of good deeds.

Another assertion is that 'Shirk' or blasphemy nullifies a person's good deeds at once and is a grave sin. A believer should hence always be aware that at any given moment, he only fears and obeys Allah. Some people fall in thirst for money so much that their behaviour resembles shirk and they treat money as their God. A believer is to stay away from such means and should be aware of his Creator at all times. A believer should always remember that he will stand answerable of his deeds infront of Allah on the Resurrection Day and that he will have but one cloth on him when he leaves the world.

Things we learnt:

> Allah commands His believing servants to obey His orders and to obey the words of Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam).

> Hence, in another synonymous way, it can also mean that a believer should obey Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad's (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) sunnah (way of life) and hadith.

> Shirk is an action, the grain-like presence of which in a heart can  invalidate or nullify a person's all good deeds and it is an unforgivable sin as declared by Allah.

> To preserve our deeds from invalidation, a believer should stay away from all types of immoralities especially blasphemy or shirk.

> Obeying Allah and His Messenger (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) clears a believer's path to the eternal life of the Hereafter.

May Allah guide us to the right path.
Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balaghul mubeen.