Those believing in the Qur’an and the prophethood of the Messenger of God...

Those believing in the Qur’an and the prophethood of the Messenger of God, the Seal of the Prophets (S) and did righteous good deeds as per the Divine Decrees and Laws of the Islamic faith, God: “will make good their state” (aslaha balahum), namely their state will improve out of having faith in Islam, since their conversion to the Islamic faith and having faith in it will alter their inward states and refine their heart out of moral and inward vices and corruption.

“Will make good their state” concerns believers and contrasts with: “Will render their deeds vain” which falls to the share of disbelievers. In other words, in as much as believers proceed on the path of improvement of their inward and outward states through their faith, disbelievers will remain in error out of their disbelief. It may also indicate that as disbelief will render good deeds vain, faith, au contraire, will lead to purity and refinement of heart.

One of the Qur’anic didactic techniques attested in a number of Verses is to draw a distinction between the fates of believers and disbelievers. In the Verse in question, belief and disbelief are distinguished as per truth and falsehood which reveals the Qur’anic logic in Its encounter with foes. “That” (dhalika) in the blessed Verse is a demonstrative pronoun whose antecedent are the disbelievers and it signifies the vanity of their deeds.

Since they followed their vain desires and proceeded on the path of falsehood, their deeds reflect their inner self, even though seemingly good, their deeds would be rendered vain since their motives rested in the pleasures of the flesh rather than obtaining Divine Satisfaction and were done out of disobedience to God and following their concupiscence and Satan.

Whoever does such deeds, his deeds will be rendered vain and devoid of truth since truth is restricted to God and the followers of falsehood remain in error. The Holy Qur’an says: “That is because Allah – He is the Truth and what they invoke besides Him is falsehood” ^5 .