Muhammad · Madani · ayah 9 of 38

Muhammad 47:9

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَرِهُوا۟ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأَحْبَطَ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ

“That is because they disliked what Allāh revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The root of the ruin is named in four words: they disliked what Allah sent down, and deeds built on that dislike swell and die.

A reflection

A camel bloated on spring grass

The verb at the end of this ayah is aḥbaṭa: He made their deeds come to nothing. The first hearers knew this root from the pastures.

The lexicons explain it. Ḥabaṭ is what happens when an animal gorges on lush spring grass. Its belly swells, and it sickens or dies. The Prophet ﷺ used the image himself, in a saying recorded by both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Among what the spring grows, he said, is what kills by swelling, or nearly kills.

The picture is precise. The camel did not starve. It ate too much of something that looked like nourishment. To any passer-by it looked well fed, even fat. Inside, it was dying.

That is how deeds "swell and die". They look full. There may be a great many of them. They are noticed and admired. But something inside them has gone wrong, and they come to nothing.

Picture a large houseplant in an office reception. The receptionist waters it every day, generously, because it looks so healthy. For weeks the leaves stay glossy and green. Then, in a single week, it collapses. When it is lifted from the pot, the roots are black and rotten. The plant was drowning while it looked its best.

The ayah names what poisoned these deeds from within. Not laziness or a lack of effort. A dislike of what Allah sent down. That dislike sat at the root, and everything that grew from it, however lush, carried the rot.

The Prophet's ﷺ saying about the spring grass was a warning to his own Companions about the lure of plenty. It applies to deeds as much as to wealth. Abundance is not the same as health. A life can be busy, generous and admired, and still be swelling towards nothing. It happens when what lies at its root is a quiet aversion to Allah's word.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.