Al-Furqan 23: We will consider every (good) deed that they have committed and make them to scattered pieces (worthless).

Verse 23 of Surah Al-Furqan: Every good deed they did, We take up, We turn it into scattered particles, We make it worthless, it says.

Now, in the verse, 'why was my good deed made worthless?' — a question may come to a person's mind. He had good deeds, the Muslim had good deeds, I had good deeds, so what, he will say. So what, he will say. Let me serve my punishment for the sins I committed, like them; they sinned too; and like them, well, let me get out of here and go to paradise — isn't this Allah's injustice, they will say.

Would they say it? They would. What does it say? Every good deed they did, We take up. We turn it into scattered particles. We make it worthless. As we explained in our earlier verses, in the verses of our Lord, as we explained in the verses we opened: denying Allah — even if one took the reward of all created beings, next to one who denies Allah, these rewards are scattered like carded cotton. Why had Allah Almighty created us? For us to know His essence. Once you deny His essence, even if you load on the reward of all these created beings, next to denying Allah they become scattered particles.

Yes.

In that case, the end of those who go to the hereafter without faith is the eternal abode of hell. Even if people deny Allah and the hereafter, surely they may also do good deeds. For example, like the invention of electricity, like the inventions of the telephone and communication devices, like the medicines they found against human diseases, like visiting relatives and the sick, or helping one another — such good deeds they may do. However many good deeds and inventions they may make in the universe, even if a single person had invented it and this person had received all these rewards, associating partners with the one Allah and saying Allah is three, calling Jesus and Ezra the son of Allah, saying the angels are His daughters, not believing in Allah and the hereafter, or not entering the religion of Islam and bearing witness — scatters all of a person's rewards like carded cotton and leaves the person alone.

Why do we say it leaves him alone?

In the realm of the hereafter, when Allah Almighty withdraws His mercy from the people who deny Allah, they will remain there with no one, alone. Those are the people this verse refers to. There they are with no one, alone. Allah Almighty likens these people's rewards to scattered particles and, not taking them into account — as a result of their making Allah's creations partners to Allah, their rewards will not remain.

Allah, within their own will, so that they know His essence, created people. Allah, who created the human deficient in mind, opened the doors of repentance to people. Through their repentance people will know Allah and serve Allah. In that case, if, instead of knowing Allah, a person is in pride and arrogance toward the Allah who created him — if he is haughty toward Allah, these people's attributes in Allah's sight carry no value. Allah is the possessor of justice. He records the atom's weight of good and evil people have done. But if, with the knowledge they found in these good and fine deeds, people cannot find Allah, then these — (?) their pleasant deeds they did in life have all gone to waste.