Ibrahim (18-20): The Parable of Those Who Disbelieved...

Know that when the Almighty mentioned the types of their punishment in the preceding verse, He clarifies in this verse that all their deeds become lost and void, from which they will gain no benefit. At this point, the extent of their loss becomes clear, as they will find nothing on the Day of Resurrection except severe punishment, while everything they did in this world will be found lost and baseless—and that is the severe loss.

There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: The Grammatical Status of {مثل الذين} (The Parable of Those Who...)

There are several views on its grammatical position:

1. View of Sībawayh: The implied structure is: "And what is recited to you is the parable of those who disbelieved," or "The parable of those who disbelieved is recited to you." The phrase {كرماد} (like ashes) is a new, independent clause, as if an inquirer asked, "What is their parable?" and the answer was, "Their deeds are like ashes."
2. View of al-Farrāʼ: The implied structure is: "The parable of the deeds of those who disbelieved in their Lord is like ashes" {مثل أعمال الذين كفروا بربهم كرماد}. The possessive noun (Mudāf) is omitted, relying on the mention of the possessed noun (Mudāf Ilayh) which is {أعمالهم} (their deeds). This is similar to the verse: {الذي أحسن كل شىء خلقه} (Who perfected everything He created), meaning "the Creator of everything." Similarly: {ويوم القيامة ترى الذين كذبوا على الله وجوههم مسودة} (And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied about Allah, their faces will be blackened), meaning the faces of those who lied about Allah will be blackened.
3. Adjectival Phrase: The implied structure is that {أعمالهم كرماد} (their deeds are like ashes) is an adjective describing "those who disbelieved," similar to saying, "Zayd whose character is preserved and whose wealth is spent."
4. Apposition (Badal): {أعمالهم} (their deeds) is an apposition to {مثل الذين كفروا} (the parable of those who disbelieved). The meaning is: "The parable of their deeds," and {كرماد} (like ashes) is the predicate (Khabar).
5. The Parable as a Link (Ṣilah): The implied structure is: "Those who disbelieved, their deeds [are like ashes]."

Issue 2: The Nature of the Analogy and the Deeds Referred To

The analogy is that a violent wind scatters ashes, leaving no trace or memory of them. Similarly, their disbelief nullifies and frustrates their deeds so that no trace or memory of those deeds remains with them.

There are differing views on what these deeds refer to:

1. Good Deeds: The intended deeds are acts of righteousness they performed, such as charity, maintaining kinship ties, honoring parents, and feeding the hungry. These deeds become nullified and void because of their disbelief; had they not disbelieved, they would have benefited from them.
2. Deeds of Disbelief: The intended deeds are their worship of idols and the efforts they exerted in their disbelief, which they mistakenly thought was faith and a path to salvation. The loss lies in the fact that they exhausted their bodies over a long period seeking benefit from these acts, only for them to become a source of ruin against them.
3. Both Categories: The intended deeds include both types. When they see that deeds which were inherently good are nullified, and the deeds they thought were good—in which they spent their lives—are also nullified and become major causes for their punishment, their regret and remorse will surely intensify. This is why the Almighty said: {وذلك هو الضلال البعيد} (And that is the far error).

Issue 3: The Reading of {في يوم عاصف} (on a Blustering Day)

It has been recited with the plural {الرياح} (winds) in a blustering day, attributing the bluster to the day, which is due to the wind within it, similar to saying "a rainy day" or "a slumbering night" (where the slumber belongs to its wind). Al-Farrāʼ said: If you wish, you can say: {في يوم ذي عصوف} (on a day of bluster), or {في يوم عاصف الريح} (on a day where the wind is blustering), omitting the mention of the wind because it was mentioned previously. It has also been read with the genitive construction (iḍāfah) for {يوم عاصف}.

Issue 4: The Meaning of {لا يقدرون مما كسبوا على شىء} (They have no power over anything they earned)

This means they have no power over anything beneficial from what they earned, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter, because it has been completely lost and corrupted. This verse indicates that the servant is the earner (acquirer) of his actions.

Know that after completing this analogy, the Almighty said: {ألم تر أن الله خلق السماوات والأرض بالحق} (Have you not seen that Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth?). There are several issues here:

Since the Almighty established that their deeds become void and lost, He clarifies that this nullification and frustration stem from their own actions: their disbelief in Allah and their turning away from servitude. Allah does not nullify the deeds of the sincere without cause. How could it befit His wisdom to do so, especially since He created this entire universe only for the sake of wisdom and correctness?

Ḥamzah and al-Kisāʼ read it as the active participle: {خالق السماوات والأرض} (The Creator of the heavens and the earth), as the predicate of Anna (that), and the heavens and earth are in the genitive case (iḍāfah), similar to: {فاطر السماوات والأرض} (Originator of the heavens and the earth) and {فالق الإصباح} (Splitter of the dawn). The rest read it as the past tense verb: {خلق السماوات والأرض} (He created the heavens and the earth) in the accusative case (maf‘ūl bihi).

This is similar to His statement in Sūrat Yūnus: {وما خلق الله ذلك إلا بالحق} (And Allah did not create that except in truth), and in Āl ‘Imrān: {ربنا ما خلقت هذا باطلا} (Our Lord, You did not create this in vain), and in Ṣād: {وما خلقنا السماء والأرض وما بينهما باطلا} (And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that which is between them in vain).

• The Sunnī position: They say it means "in truth," signifying the proof of the Creator's existence, knowledge, and power.
• The Mu‘tazilī position: They say it means "for a true purpose," meaning He did not create it in vain but for a sound objective.

Then the Almighty said: {إن يشأ يذهبكم ويأت بخلق جديد} (If He wills, He can remove you and bring forth a new creation).

The meaning is that the One capable of creating the heavens and the earth in truth is certainly more capable of annihilating one group of people and bringing forth others in their place and resurrecting them. This is because the one capable of the greater, more difficult task is certainly capable of the easier, lesser task. Ibn ‘Abbās said this address is to the disbelievers of Mecca, meaning: "O disbelievers, I will cause you to die, and I will create a people better and more obedient than you."

Then He said: {وما ذلك على الله بعزيز} (And that is not difficult for Allah). This means it is not impossible, because the One capable of annihilating and creating the entire universe is certainly more deserving and capable of annihilating specific individuals and creating others like them. And Allah knows best.

Verse 7: {وبرزوا لله جميعا فقال الضعفاء للذين استكبروا إنا كنا لكم تبعا فهل أنتم مغنون عنا من عذاب الله من شىء قالوا لو هدانا الله لهديناكم سواء علينا أجزعنا أم صبرنا ما لنا من محيص}

And they will be brought forth before Allah all together. Then the weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Indeed, we were followers of you. So, can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allah?" They will say: "If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we despair or are patient; there is for us no escape."