The Quran

Preface

۞ قالَتِ الأَعرابُ آمَنّا ۖ قُل لَم تُؤمِنوا وَلٰكِن قولوا أَسلَمنا وَلَمّا يَدخُلِ الإيمانُ في قُلوبِكُم ۖ وَإِن تُطيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ لا يَلِتكُم مِن أَعمالِكُم شَيئًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ

Yusuf Ali

The desert Arabs say,¹ “We believe.” Say, “Ye have no faith; but ye (only)say, ?We have submitted² our wills to God,? For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey God and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

The desert Arabs were somewhat shaky in their faith. Their hearts and minds were petty, and they thought of petty things, while Islam requires the complete submission of one’s being to God. See next verse. Some of the failings of the desert Arabs are described in 48:11-15. But the reference here is said to be to the BanuAsad, who came to profess Islam in order to get charity during a famine.
'This is what ye ought to prove if your faith has any meaning, but ye only say it with your tongues.'