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ʾinna lladhīna kafarū wa-ṣaddū ʿan sabīli llāhi wa-shāqqū r-rasūla min baʿdi mā tabayyana lahumu l-hudā lan yaḍurrū llāha shayʾan wa-sa-yuḥbiṭu ʾaʿmālahum
Indeed those who are faithless and bar from the way of Allah and defy the Apostle after guidance has become clear to them, they will not hurt Allah in the least, and He shall make their works fail.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Muhammad - Verse 32-33
32. Verily those who disbelieve and hinder [people] from the Path of Allah and oppose the Messenger after the guidance has been clearly shown to them they will not hurt Allah in the least but He will make their deeds fruitless.
33. O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and render not vain your deeds.
According to Qur’anic Verses and traditions, a number of words and deeds render vain diverse deeds, e.g. hurting the needy which renders vain rewards. Following a delineation of the hypocrites’ and disbelievers’ stance against the Islamic faith, the Verse in question says:
“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and render not vain your deeds.”
The fact is that believers take an opposite stance in all matters against disbelievers and hypocrites. The former obey the Divine Decree where as the latter disobey It. The deeds of the latter are rendered vain through their disbelief, dissimulation, and hurting others but the rewards of the former are preserved at Divine Threshold. The tone of the Verse indicates that there were believers at the time who failed to meet their obligations in terms of obeying God and His Messenger and preserving their deeds from being rendered vain. God warns them against such neglect. According to some exegets, the occasion for the revelation of the Verse is the conversion of Banu Asad tribe to the Islamic faith.
They said unto the Prophet (S) that they were prepared to sacrifice themselves and their families for his cause, but their tone of speech somehow reflected the Prophet’s (S) indebtedness for their favor. The Verse was sent down as a warning against their attitude. Some experts in the field of Islamic law maintain that:
“and render not vain your deeds”
refers to the unlawfulness of leaving the daily prayers incomplete; however, taking into consideration the preceding and the following Verses as well as the Verse in question indicates otherwise. The Verse indicates rendering vain the good deeds out of polytheism, hypocrisy, hurting others and the like.