Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Furqan Verse 23

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And We will proceed to whatever deeds they did, and will turn them into scattered dust.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Then We will turn to whatever ˹good˺ deeds they did, reducing them to scattered dust.[[ The good deeds of the disbelievers (like charity) will have no weight on Judgment Day. ]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

We will turn to whatever deeds they did and turn them into scattered dust.

A. J. Arberry

We shall advance upon what work they have done, and make it a scattered dust.

Abdul Haleem

and We shall turn to the deeds they have done and scatter them like dust.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And We shall set upon that which they worked, and shall make it as dust wind-scattered.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did (in this life), and We shall make such deeds as floating dust scattered about.

Abul Ala Maududi

Then We shall turn to what they had done and render it vain like scattered dust.

Ahmed Ali

We shall turn to their deeds and scatter them like particles of dust.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And We turned all the deeds they had performed into scattered floating specks of dust.

Ali Quli Qarai

Then We shall attend to the works they have done and then turn them into scattered dust.

Ali Ünal

And We will turn to deal with all the (supposedly good) deeds that they did (in the world), and will reduce them all to dust particles scattered about.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And We have turned (Our attention) to whatsoever attempt they have made (against Islam) and so We will render this (attempt) like thin dust particles scattered about (as it was in the battle of Badr).

English Literal

And We came/tended to to what they made/did from (a) deed, so We made it scattered/spread dust.

Faridul Haque

And We turned all the deeds they had performed into scattered floating specks of dust.

Hamid S. Aziz

On the day when they behold the angels, there will be no good tidings for the guilty; and the angels will say, "There is a forbidden barrier for you."

Hilali & Khan

And We shall turn to whatever deeds they (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.) did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

On the day when they will see the angels, there will be no good news for the guilty, and they will say: Let there be a strong barrier!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And We shall turn unto the work they did and make it scattered motes.

Muhammad Sarwar

We shall call their deeds into Our presence and scatter them into the air as dust (turn them devoid of all virtue).

Qaribullah & Darwish

Then We shall advance upon the work which they have done and render it as scattered dust.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

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

Wahiduddin Khan

and We shall take all that they did and turn it into scattered dust.

Talal Itani

We will proceed to the works they did, and will turn them into scattered dust.

Tafsir jalalayn

And We shall attend to, We shall turn to, the works they did, that were good, such as voluntary alms or kindness to kin, a hospitable reception of a guest or the succour of a troubled person in this world, and turn them into scattered dust (hab'an manthran), namely, [as] those individual particles of dust which one might observe near a window when the sun is shining through. In other words, [We shall make their good works] like those [particles of dust] in their uselessness, there being no reward for such [works], for lack of any [binding] obligation [to reward them therefor]; but they are rewarded for it in the life of this world.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَقَدِمْنَا إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ

And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did,

This refers to the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will bring mankind to account for their deeds, good and bad alike.

Allah tells us that the deeds which these idolators thought would bring them salvation will be of no avail to them, because they were not in accordance with the Shariah or Laws of Allah, whether in terms of sincere intention or in terms of following the Laws set out by Allah. Every deed that is neither sincere nor in accordance with the Laws of Allah is futile, and the deeds of the disbelievers are either one or the other, or they may include both, in which case they are even less likely to be accepted.

Allah says;

وَقَدِمْنَا إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاء مَّنثُورًا



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

Sufyan Ath-Thawri, narrated from Abu Ishaq, from Al-Harith that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on Allah's saying;
فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاء مَّنثُورًا
and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust (Haba').

"The rays of the sun when they pass through a small aperture."

A similar view was also narrated through a different chain of narrators from Ali, and something similar was also narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, As-Suddi, Ad-Dahhak and others.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

"This refers to the rays coming through a small window, and if anyone tries to grasp them, he cannot."

Abu Al-Ahwas narrated from Abu Ishaq from Al-Harith that Ali said;

"Haba' refers to the dust raised by animals."

A similar view was also narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ad-Dahhak, and this was also said by Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.

هَبَاء مَّنثُورًا
(scattered floating particles of dust (Haba')).

Qatadah said;

"Have you not seen dry trees when they are blown by the wind? This refers to those leaves."

It was narrated that Ya`la bin Ubayd said;

"Ashes or dust when it is stirred up by the wind."

In conclusion, all of these views are pointing out that the deeds of the disbelievers will be like some worthless scattered thing, and will be of no avail to them whatsoever.

As Allah says;

مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ الرِّيحُ

The parable of those who disbelieved in their Lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously. (14;18)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُواْ لَا تُبْطِلُواْ صَدَقَاتِكُم بِالْمَنِّ وَالاذَى كَالَّذِي يُنفِقُ مَالَهُ رِيَاء النَّاسِ وَلَا يُوْمِنُ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الاخِرِ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ صَفْوَانٍ عَلَيْهِ تُرَابٌ فَأَصَابَهُ وَابِلٌ فَتَرَكَهُ صَلْدًا لاَّ يَقْدِرُونَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِّمَّا كَسَبُواْ



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 likeness is the likeness 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. (2;264)

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْأنُ مَأءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَأءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْياً

As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing. (24;39)
The Abode of the People of Paradise

Allah says;

أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ يَوْمَيِذٍ خَيْرٌ مُّسْتَقَرًّا وَأَحْسَنُ مَقِيلً