Tafseer of Muhammad · Muhammad · 47:8
But those who disbelieve - for them is misery, and He will waste their deeds.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَتَعْسًا لَهُمْ وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ (47:8) (And those who disbelieve — perdition be upon them, and He causes their deeds to come to naught.)
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: (وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا) "And those who disbelieve (kāfir)" in Allah, and thereby have denied His oneness, (فَتَعْسًا لَهُمْ) "perdition be upon them". He says: humiliation be upon them, and misery, and calamity.
As Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying (وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَتَعْسًا لَهُمْ), he said: misery be upon them.
And His saying (وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ) "and He causes their deeds to come to naught" means: and He has made their deeds into deeds performed without right guidance and without righteousness, because they are performed in obedience to the devil, not in obedience to the Most Merciful.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying (وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ), he said: The misguidance by which Allah led them astray, in that He did not guide them as He guided the others — for it is the misguidance about which Allah has informed you: He leads astray whom He wills, and He guides whom He wills. He said: and these are among those whose deeds have been made into misguidance.
And His saying (وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ) is referred back to His saying (فَتَعْسًا لَهُمْ); this (aḍalla) is a perfect verb, whereas "perdition" (al-taʿs) is a noun. For al-taʿs, although it is a noun, has the meaning of a verb, on account of the meaning of a supplication (duʿāʾ) that it carries within it; thus it has the meaning of: Allah brought perdition upon them (atʿasahum Allāh). For this reason it is correct that aḍalla be referred back to it, because the supplication fulfills the same function as the command and the prohibition. Likewise is His saying حَتَّى إِذَا أَثْخَنْتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا الْوَثَاقَ (until, when you have overwhelmed them, then bind firm the bonds) referred back to an implicit command that places "striking" (ḍarb) in the accusative.
