KHUTAB V: 6. FUTILE DEEDS

6.  FUTILE DEEDS

        A well-known Egyptian dā‘in (dā‘iyah, Islamic preacher) at the end of the late century, called ‘Amr Khalid, called people to stick to Islam and to observe its teachings. In one of his lectures, he posed this question: What would happen to those people who do good deeds in this world, but kāfirs, do not accept Islam, would they get benefit from these good deeds in the Hereafter? He answered this question briefly in Egyptian slang, enta mālak enta!, meaning, “it is not your business.” What he means is that do not bother with other people whether they are Muslims or not, but what should concern you is your own salvation.

The word kāfir in its original, classical, pre-Islamic meaning, is derived from the verb kafara, “to cover”, so that the word kāfir, literally means “a person (or something) that covers something (else).” Technically, a kāfir is “a person who covers the truth of Islam, by denying it.” The pre-Islamic poet Labīd said in his poem:

... في لَيْلَةٍ كَفَرَ النّجُومَ غَمَامُهَا

… in a night where its cloud covered its stars

          The answer to this question is found in verses in many chapters of the Qur’ān, as follows:

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَى رَبَّنَا

لَقَدِ اسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَعَتَوْا عُتُوًّا كَبِيرًا . يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ

لَا بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْرًا مَحْجُورًا. وَقَدِمْنَا

إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا (الفرقان:21-23)

And those who expect not a meeting with Us (i.e.,

 those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the

Life of the Hereafter) said:  “Why are not the angels

 sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord?”

 Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and

 are scornful with great pride. On the day they will

 see the angels—no glad tidings will there be for

 the mujrimin (criminals, disbelievers)that day.

 And they (the angels) will say: “All kinds of

 glad tidings are forbidden to you,”. And We

 shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and

We shall make such deeds as scattered

 Floating particles of dust (Q. 25:23)

          In this verse it is mentioned that pride makes them reject the truth. In a ḥadīth narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا يَدْخُلُ

الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ

أَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ حَسَنَةً قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ

الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ  (رواه مسلم)

“Whosoever has pride in his heart equal to the

weight of an atom shall not enter Paradise.”

A person (among the audience) said: “Verily,

a person loves that his dress should be

beautiful, and his shoes should be beautiful.”

The Prophet remarked: “Verily, Allah is the

Most Beautiful, and He loves beauty. Pride

disregarding the truth, and looking down

 upon) people. (Reported by Muslim)

          The futility of deeds of non-believers in the Hereafter is explained vividly, and compared to mirage in a desert in the following verse:

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآَنُ

 مَاءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ

حِسَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ (النور:39)

As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage

 in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he

 comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing; but he finds Allah

with him, Who will pay him his due (Hell). And Allah

 is swift in taking account (Q. 24:39).

          According to this verse disbelievers will not get reward from Allah in the Hereafter for their good deeds in this world. It is like a mirage for a thirsty person; instead of water he finds nothing.

          In another verse the good deeds of disbelievers are like ashes blown by wind on a stormy day. The verse runs as follows:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ

 الرِّيحُ فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ  لَا يَقْدِرُونَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا عَلَى شَيْءٍ

ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ (إبراهيم:18) 

The parable of those who disbelieved

in their Lord is that their works are as ashes,

 on which the wind blows furiously on a stormy

 day; they shall not be able to get aught of what

 they have earned. That is the straying, far

 away (from the Right Path). (Q. 14:18)

          Here again lies the importance of guidance and following the right path, Islam, without which there will be no salvation. Without following the right path you will never reach your destination. Even people close to Allah, like prophets, could not rescue disbelievers among their close relatives: Prophet Noah’s wife, Prophet Lot’s wife, Prophet Abraham’s father, and Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.’s uncle, Abu Talib. (CIVIC, 8.2.13)