إِنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ إِنّا لا نُضيعُ أَجرَ مَن أَحسَنَ عَمَلًا
As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds – indeed We do not waste the reward of those who are good in deeds.
EXEGESIS
There is disagreement as to what is the predicate (khabar) of the statement As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds:
- For such there will be the gardens of Eden (in the next verse). In this case, We do not waste the reward … is an interjection between the two statements.
- Indeed We do not waste the reward of those who are good in deeds [among them], in which case the expression ‘among them’ is elided.
- It does not need a predicate, since those who are good in deeds is an apposition for those who have faith and do righteous deeds; in which case the meaning is: As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds – indeed We do not waste their reward.
Nuḍīʿu (we waste) is the imperfect form of ḍāʿa, literally meaning to be destroyed (halaka). If the final outcome and manifestation of good deeds done by the faithful was actually nothing, meaning it was nullified and destroyed, then that would be letting the reward they built (see the previous verse) go to waste. God would never deny them that which they have sent forth for themselves by their actions.
EXPOSITION
As the previous verse said, let anyone who wishes believe it, and let anyone who wishes disbelieve it, this verse now further clarifies that the two are not equal. Just like the wrongdoers should be punished, it is also contrary to God’s justice to let the deeds of the good-doers go unrewarded.
All the patience that the believers displayed, all the efforts that they maintained, every time they turned away from worldly adornment and glitter, it should not be thought that they have now been denied enjoyment or pleasure or that God has wasted their reward. Quite the opposite, since the reward given to them is not the ephemeral and illusory enjoyment of this world, but lasting and real, Do not extend your glance toward what We have provided certain groups of them as a glitter of the life of this world, so that We may test them thereby. And the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting (20:131).
The reward of those who do good deeds is not wasted, as long as they are of those who believe as well. While it is true that a faithless person may do good deeds as well, there is no reward promised for it, because it is not done for the sake of God, and anything which is not done for the sake of God goes astray; Those who are [themselves] faithless and bar [others] from the way of Allah – He has made their works go awry (47:1). Of course, it is the intention that defines an action as being good or evil.
Similarly, the verse emphasises that faith without good actions is not worthy of reward. It may even be understood to imply that such a faith is a type of wrongdoing (ẓulm), or even that faith itself is a type of action, albeit an action of the heart. Perhaps this is one of the things alluded to in the verse, And Allah would not let your faith go to waste (2:143).
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- And people will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”
- The Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
- Surely, God will not cast away a perfect man, nor will He strengthen the evildoers.
- Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
- And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
- You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.
[1] Tibyan, 7/37; Tabrisi, 6/720.
[2] Lisan, 8/231.
[3] Mizan, 13/305.
[4] Psalms 58:11.
[5] 2 Samuel 22:25.
[6] Job 8:20.
[7] 1 Corinthians 15:58.
[8] Hebrews 11:6.
[9] James 2:22.