Surah Muhammad (47) — Ayah 1

The name of this Surah is Surah Muhammad (peace be upon him), because his noble name appears in it. Besides this, it is also called Surah Qital, because the word "Qital" (fighting) appears twice in it and its central theme is fighting against the disbelievers.

(Ayah 1) ➊ {اَلَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا وَ صَدُّوْا عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ … :} Since most of this Surah consists of urging war against the polytheists, Allah Almighty began the Surah by expressing His wrath upon the disbelievers and His mercy upon the believers, so that, due to their disbelief and their crime of preventing others from the way of Allah, the Muslims may be encouraged to fight them. Thus, after this introduction, it is said: « فَاِذَا لَقِيْتُمُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ» [ محمد : ۴ ] "So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks."

➋ {صَدُّوْا عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ اَضَلَّ اَعْمَالَهُمْ: ’’ صَدُّوْا ‘‘ ’’صَدَّ يَصُدُّ ‘‘} (n) It also comes in the sense of "to turn away" as an intransitive verb, its verbal noun is {’’ صُدُوْدًا‘‘}, and as a transitive verb, "to prevent," its verbal noun is {’’صَدًّا ‘‘}. Here, the second meaning is intended, because the matter of turning away itself has come in {’’ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا ‘‘}, and disbelief is more severe than turning away. Therefore, the meaning is that those who refused to believe and also prevented others from the way of Allah, that is, from accepting Islam, Allah Almighty rendered their deeds null and void. That is, the apparently good deeds these people did while remaining disbelievers, such as charity, hospitality, maintaining family ties, repairing and performing Hajj of the Ka'bah, helping the oppressed, etc., they will receive no reward for them with Allah Almighty, because without faith, no deed has any value. See also the commentary of Surah Al-Furqan (23). Another meaning of rendering the deeds of the disbelievers void is that Allah Almighty nullified all their actions, that is, their conspiracies and plans which they used to try to bring Islam down.

➌ { صَدُّوْا عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ اَضَلَّ اَعْمَالَهُمْ:} There are several forms of preventing from the way of Allah, one of which is that a person forcibly prevents someone from believing. The second is that he inflicts such oppression and persecution upon the believers that it becomes difficult for them to remain steadfast in faith, and seeing their miserable condition, those intending to believe do not dare to do so. Allah Almighty has used the word "fitnah" for this. The third is that he incites people against Islam in various ways and puts such doubts in their hearts that they become disillusioned with the religion of Islam. The fourth is that every disbeliever raises his children and dependents upon disbelief, making it difficult for them to accept the true religion, thus becoming guilty of preventing from the way of Allah. To eliminate all these forms of preventing from the way of Allah, the command to fight the disbelievers was given.

Those who disbelieved and hindered from the way of Allah (1) Allah has rendered their deeds worthless. (2)

Those who disbelieve and hinder (others) from the way of Allah [1,2], He will render their deeds void.

[1]
The Background of the Revelation of Surah Muhammad ﷺ:

Surah Muhammad is among the early surahs that were revealed after the migration to Madinah. In Makkah, the only enemies of Islam and the Prophet of Islam were the Quraysh. But after going to Madinah, when a small state of Muslims was also established, the number of enemies of the Muslims increased. The Quraysh of Makkah also did not abandon their enmity. Although the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made a defensive pact with the Jews as soon as he arrived in Madinah, the Jews are a nation that breaks covenants. Their collusion remained with the Quraysh of Makkah, and the Quraysh of Makkah, despite this defensive pact, also considered them their own allies. The hypocrites also became a snake in the sleeve for the Muslims, and secretly all their sympathies were with the Jews, and in this respect, they were even more dangerous because they kept the Jews and other enemies informed of the secrets and strategies of the Muslims. In addition, the polytheist Arab tribes around were also not ready to tolerate the existence of this small new Muslim state.

The Severe Problems That Arose After Reaching Madinah and Only Two Paths:

After reaching Madinah, Muslims gained the benefit that now they could recite the Quran freely, perform the pillars of Islam, and preach openly. But here, they were surrounded on all sides by internal and external enemies. The issue of settling the emigrants and economic difficulties was separate. In these circumstances, there were only two paths for the Muslims: one, to be overwhelmed by these difficulties and surrender to disbelief; and the other, to risk everything and stand firm against disbelief and trust in Allah. In this background, this surah was revealed, the Muslims were given reassurance, and they were encouraged to fight in the way of Allah while placing their trust in Him.

[2]
The Literal Meaning of ﴿صدّ﴾:

The word ﴿صَدَّ﴾ is used both intransitively and transitively. Its meaning is to turn away and to refrain oneself, as well as to prevent others. And its meaning here is that those who disbelieved, then continued to prevent others from accepting Islam in support of disbelief, continued to inflict harm and pain upon the Muslims, devised secret plans and conspiracies to stop the spread of Islam, and participated in hostile activities. Their activities here will prove fruitless and ineffective, and they will fail in these efforts. Allah will destroy their efforts and never let them bear fruit.