by Dr. Ali Shehata
What will be the End of People who Perform Good Deeds but Don’t Submit?
Amongst the disbelievers, there are those who may do deeds that seem to be good because they bring positive results for others, such as humanitarian or philanthropic acts. However, these acts, although good in nature, are not the kind that will lead to their ultimate salvation. What will be their condition in the Hereafter then? God answers this very question in the Quran by saying:
Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived. Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do. {11:15-16}
Commenting on this verse some of the Companions of the Prophet and their students stated:
Ibn `Abbas said concerning this verse, “Therefore, whoever does a good deed seeking to acquire worldly gain - like fasting, prayer, or standing for prayer at night – and he does so in order to acquire worldly benefit, then God says, ‘Give him the reward of that which he sought in the worldly life,’ and his deed that he did is then of no value in the Hereafter because he was only seeking the life of this world. In the Hereafter he will be of the losers.”
Qatadah said, “Whoever's concern, intention and goal is this worldly, material life, then God will reward him for his good deeds in this life. Then, when he reaches the next life, he will not have any good deeds for which to be rewarded. However, concerning the believer, he will be rewarded for his good deeds in this life and in the Hereafter as well.”
Such people claim to be doing good, while at the same time they are refusing to submit to God. Hence, there can be no real, or full, goodness in them. God describes them in the Quran by stating:
Say, “Shall We tell you of the greatest losers in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds? They are the ones who deny the signs of their Lord and the meeting with Him in the Hereafter. So their works are in vain, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall not give them any consideration. Hell shall be their repayment, because they disbelieved and took My signs and My Messengers as a joke.” {18:103-106}
Thus, consistent with all of the other verses in the Quran where God states that not one single good deed will go without reward, He rewards those who deny Him and the religion He established for them by giving them their reward in this material world only. And so these people will come forth on the Day of Judgment without any good for which to be rewarded, because they have already received their reward in the worldly life. Yet, they will then receive their punishment for having denied their Lord and because they did not submit themselves in worship to Him exclusively (i.e., they did worship God, but also submitted themselves to others besides Him by obeying them or praying to them, etc.).
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