14:18 Ibrahim (Abraham)

يخبر تعالى عن أعمال الكفار التي عملوها: إما أن المراد بها الأعمال التي عملوها لله، بأنها في ذهابها وبطلانها واضمحلالها كاضمحلال الرماد، الذي هو أدق الأشياء وأخفها، إذا اشتدت به الريح في يوم عاصف شديد الهبوب، فإنه لا يبقى منه شيئا، ولا يقدر منه على شيء يذهب ويضمحل، فكذلك أعمال الكفار { لَا يَقْدِرُونَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا عَلَى شَيْءٍ } ولا على مثقال ذرة منه لأنه مبني على الكفر والتكذيب. { ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ } حيث بطل سعيهم واضمحل عملهم، وإما أن المراد بذلك أعمال الكفار التي عملوها ليكيدوا بها الحق، فإنهم يسعون ويكدحون في ذلك ومكرهم عائد عليهم ولن يضروا الله ورسله وجنده وما معهم من الحق شيئا.

هذا مثل ضربه الله تعالى لأعمال الكفار الذين عبدوا معه غيره وكذبوا رسله وبنوا أعمالهم على غير أساس صحيح فانهارت وعدموها أحوج ما كانوا إليها فقال تعالى " مثل الذين كفروا بربهم أعمالهم " أي مثل أعمالهم يوم القيامة إذا طلبوا ثوابها من الله تعالى لأنهم كانوا يحسبون أنهم كانوا على شيء فلم يجدوا شيئا ولا ألفوا حاصلا إلا كما يتحصل من الرماد إذا اشتدت به الريح العاصفة " في يوم عاصف " أي ذي ريح شديدة عاصفة قوية فلم يقدروا على شيء من أعمالهم التي كسبوا فى الدنيا إلا كما يقدرون على جمع هذا الرماد في هذا اليوم كقوله تعالى " وقدمنا إلى ما عملوا من عمل فجعلناه هباء منثورا " وقوله تعالى " مثل ما ينفقون في هذا الحياة الدنيا كمثل ريح فيها صر أصابت حرث قوم ظلموا أنفسهم فأهلكته وما ظلمهم الله ولكن أنفسهم يظلمون " وقوله تعالى " يا أيها الذين آمنوا لا تبطلوا صدقاتكم بالمن والأذى كالذي ينفق ماله رئاء الناس ولا يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر فمثله كمثل صفوان عليه تراب فأصابه وابل فتركه صلدا لا يقدرون على شيء مما كسبوا والله لا يهدي القوم الكافرين " وقوله في هذه الآية " ذلك هو الضلال البعيد " أي سعيهم وعملهم على غير أساس ولا استقامة حتى فقدوا ثوابهم أحوج ما كانوا إليه " ذلك هو الضلال البعيد ".

A Parable for the Deeds of the Disbelievers

This is a parable that Allah has given for the deeds and actions of the disbelievers who worshipped others besides Him and rejected His Messengers, thus building their acts on groundless basis. Their actions vanished from them when they were most in need of their rewards. Allah said,

مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ

(The parable of those who disbelieved in their Lord is that their works) on the Day of Judgment, when they will seek their rewards from Allah the Exalted. They used to think that they had something, but they will find nothing, except what remains of ashes when a strong wind blows on it,

فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ

(on a stormy day;) They will not earn rewards for any of the good works they performed during this life, except what they can preserve of ashes during a day of strong wind. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً

(And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.)25:23,

مَثَلُ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ فِى هِـذِهِ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

(The parable of what they spend in this world is that of a wind which is extremely cold; it struck the harvest of a people who did wrong against themselves and destroyed it. Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves.)3:117,and,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُبْطِلُواْ صَدَقَـتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالاٌّذَى كَالَّذِى يُنفِقُ مَالَهُ رِئَآءَ النَّاسِ وَلاَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاٌّخِرِ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ صَفْوَانٍ عَلَيْهِ تُرَابٌ فَأَصَابَهُ وَابِلٌ فَتَرَكَهُ صَلْدًا لاَّ يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى شَىْءٍ مِّمَّا كَسَبُواْ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَـفِرِينَ

(O you who believe! Do not render in vain your Sadaqah (charity) by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen of men, and he does not believe in Allah, nor in the Last Day. His parable is that of a smooth rock on which is a little dust; on it falls heavy rain which leaves it bare. They are not able to do anything with what they have earned. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.)2:264 Allah said in this Ayah,

ذلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلاَلُ الْبَعِيدُ

(That is the straying, far away from the right path) meaning, their work and deeds were not based on firm, correct grounds, and thus, they lost their rewards when they needed them the most,

ذلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلاَلُ الْبَعِيدُ

(That is the straying, far away from the right path.)

The likeness the description of those who disbelieve in their Lord alladhīna kafarū bi-rabbihim the subject substituted by the following a‘māluhum their works the righteous ones such as kindness to kin or an act of charity — in the way that no benefit can be derived from them it is because these works — are as ashes over which the wind blows hard on a tempestuous day one in which the winds blow violently making them as scattered dust over which none can have power the genitive clause beginning with ka-ramādin ‘as ashes’ constitutes the predicate of the above-mentioned subject; they that is the disbelievers have no power over anything that they have earned anything that they had done in their life on earth in other words they shall find no reward for it since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error extreme perdition!

In the last verse here (8), it was said: قَالَ مُوسَىٰ إِن تَكْفُرُ‌وا أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ جَمِيعًا (And Musa said, "If you are ungrateful, you and all those on earth, then, Allah is free of all needs, worthy of every praise.) " This was said by Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) to his people. He is telling them that should they or, for that matter, all inhabitants of the earth become ungrateful to Allah Ta’ ala, it is not going to cause any loss to Allah Ta’ ala. As for Him, He needs no praise or gratitude for Himself. He is Independent. He is beyond that. He is intrinsically Praised and deserving of praise. If you do not praise Him, the angels do, all of them, and so does every particle of this universe.

So, whatever good there is in gratitude, that is for you alone. There-fore, when you are asked to be grateful by Allah Ta’ ala, there is no gain for Him in doing so. In fact, it is His infinite mercy reaching out to you in your interest.