The Quran

۞ 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

Ali Unal

(Some of) the dwellers of the desert say: “We believe.” Say (to them): “You have not believed. Rather, (you should) say, ‘We have submitted (to the rule of Islam),’ for faith has not yet entered into your hearts.”¹ But, if you obey God and His Messenger, He will not hold back anything of the reward of your (good) deeds.² Surely God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.

Being a Muslim has three aspects. One is believing in all the essentials of the Islamic faith and submitting to God and His Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, wholeheartedly by carrying out the commandments of Islam. This is being a sincere Muslim. The second is accepting the sovereignty of the Islamic government or being a Muslim according to the law. This requires a verbal declaration of faith, joining the Muslim congregation in the Prayer, and paying the Prescribed Purifying Alms (az-Zakāh), and not doing openly anything that will invalidate the declaration of faith. Such a person may be a hypocrite, but is treated as a Muslim by law. The third is only submission to the Islamic government. The Bedouins mentioned in the verse were Muslims of the third type.
This has three meanings:
- If you truly believe and obey God and His Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, He will not diminish anything in the reward of your deeds both in the world and, especially, in the Hereafter.
- If you continue to obey God and His Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, in submission to the Muslim state, you will never be left unrewarded for your services in the world.
- If a virtuous non-believer who is not too prejudiced or arrogant to believe does good deeds pleasing to God and does not wrong others, God usually rewards or favors them with faith. A man asked God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings: “Will our good deeds in Jāhiliyyah be rewarded?” The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, replied: “God bestowed Islam on you because of those deeds of yours” (al-Bukhārī, “Adab,” 16; Muslim, “Īmān,” 194).