Al-Qur'an Surah Muhammad Verse 33

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and do not nullify your deeds.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and do not let your deeds be in vain.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and do not cause your deeds to be nullified.

A. J. Arberry

O believers, obey God, and obey the Messenger, and do not make your own works vain.

Abdul Haleem

believers, obey God and the Messenger: do not let your deeds go to waste-

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Ye who believe! obey Allah and obey the apostle, and render not Your works vain.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger, and make not vain your deeds!

Abul Ala Maududi

Believers, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not cause your works to be nullified.

Ahmed Ali

O you who believe, obey God and the Prophet, and do not waste your deeds.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O People who Believe! Obey Allah and obey the Noble Messenger, and do not render your deeds void.

Ali Quli Qarai

O you who have faith! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and do not render your works void.

Ali Ünal

O you who believe! Obey God (in all His commandments) and obey the Messenger (in his execution of God’s commandments and in his own directives), and do not let your deeds go to waste.

Amatul Rahman Omar

O you who believe! obey Allâh and obey the Messengers and do not let your deeds go in vain.

English Literal

You, you those who believed, obey God and obey the messenger and do not waste/annul your deeds.

Faridul Haque

O People who Believe! Obey Allah and obey the Noble Messenger, and do not render your deeds void.

Hamid S. Aziz

O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and do not make your actions vain.

Hilali & Khan

O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) and render not vain your deeds.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Surely those who disbelieve and hinder (men) from Allah’s way and oppose the Messenger after guidance is quite clear to them, cannot harm Allah in any way, and He will make their deeds fruitless.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle, and do not make your deeds of no effect.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger, and render not your actions vain.

Muhammad Sarwar

Believers, obey God and the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Believers, obey Allah and His Messenger and never let your labors go in vain!

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and invalidate not your deeds.

Wahiduddin Khan

Believers, obey God and obey the Messenger: do not let your deeds go to waste --

Talal Itani

O you who believe! obey God, and obey the Messenger, and do not let your deeds go to waste.

Tafsir jalalayn

O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger, and do not render your own works void, by [engaging in] acts of disobedience, for example.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

O you who believe!

Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds.

This made them fear that some sins could nullify their deeds."

It has also been reported from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said,

"We, the Companions of Allah's Messenger, used to think that good deeds would all be accepted, until Allah revealed,
أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ
(Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds). So we asked each other;

`What is it that can nullify our deeds'

So we said, `The major sins, great offenses that require admission into the Fire and immoral sins.'

But then Allah revealed,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَأءُ

Verily, Allah does not forgive joining partners with Him in worship, but He forgives except that to whom He wills. (4;48)

After this was revealed, we ceased saying that. We thereafter continued to fear for those who committed great sins and immoral sins and to have hope for those who did not."

Then, Allah commands His believing servants to obey Him and His Messenger, which would result in their happiness in this worldly life and the Hereafter. He also prohibits them from apostasy, because that would result in the nullification of their deeds.

Thus He says,
وَلَا تُبْطِلُوا أَعْمَالَكُمْ
(and do not invalidate your deeds.) meaning, by apostasy.

Thus, Allah says after this,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ مَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ