And do not invalidate your deeds, meaning do not nullify the acts of obedience with major sins. [Mahamud said: "Its meaning is: do not nullify the acts of obedience with major sins... etc."] Ahmad said: The principle of the people of the Sunnah is based on the fact that major sins, which are less than shirk, do not nullify a recorded good deed. For Allah does not do injustice even to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed, He multiplies it and grants from Himself a great reward. Yes, they say that good deeds erase bad deeds, as promised by the Generous, glorified and exalted is He. The principle of the Mu'tazila is based on the belief that a single major sin nullifies all preceding good deeds, even if they are like the sea of Zayd, because they assert the eternal punishment of the sinful in the Fire and the removal of the attribute of faith from him. Whenever he is eternally punished in the Fire, his acts of obedience and faith will not benefit him. Based on this, Al-Zamakhshari built his words and brought forth narrations that, in some cases, superficially agree with his belief. There is no general commentary on them without detail, for the aforementioned principle is firmly established by evidence that necessitates it, and every reasonable person in matters of permissibility and prohibition should avoid contradicting it. Therefore, whatever appears to contradict it must be referred back to it through some form of interpretation. If it is a text that does not accept interpretation, then the way in this is to have a good opinion of the one it is reported from and to attribute the mistake to the narrators. The narration mentioned from Ibn 'Umar is more deserving of its apparent meaning for the people of the Sunnah, so reflect on it. As for the interpretation of the verse among the people of truth, it is that the prohibition is against violating a condition of the deed and a pillar that necessitates its invalidation from its origin, not that it becomes invalid after fulfilling the conditions of validity and acceptance. This is like His saying, "Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet," until He said, "so that your deeds do not become invalid." And from Abu Al-Haliyah: The companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, believed that no sin harms with faith, just as no benefit comes with shirk. [This was narrated by Muhammad ibn Nasr Al-Marwazi in his book on the significance of prayer. He said: Abu Qudamah narrated to us, Waki' narrated to us, Abu Ja'far Al-Razi narrated from Al-Rabi' ibn Anas this, and he added: Then the verse "And do not invalidate your deeds" was revealed. In the book, there is a raised narration. It was narrated by Ishaq, Abu Ya'la, and Abu Nu'aym in Al-Hilyah from the narration of Ibn Mas'ud. Abu Nu'aym said: Yahya ibn Yaman uniquely narrated it from Sufyan. And Yahya is weak. And there is also a narration from 'Umar, narrated by Al-'Aqili. And Ibn 'Adi from the narration of Hajjaj ibn Nusayr from Mundhir ibn Ziyad, and both are weak.] They feared that major sins would invalidate their deeds. And from Hudhayfah: They feared that major sins would invalidate their deeds. And from Ibn 'Umar: We used to think that there was nothing from our good deeds except that it was accepted, until the verse "And do not invalidate your deeds" was revealed. We said: What is this that invalidates our deeds? We said: The major sins that necessitate punishment and the immoral acts, until the verse "Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners are associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills" was revealed. So we refrained from speaking about that, and we used to fear for those who committed major sins and hope for those who did not commit them. [This was narrated by Ibn Mardawayh from the path of Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak from Bakir ibn Ma'ruf from Muqatil ibn Hayyan from Nafi' from Ibn 'Umar with this. And Muhammad ibn Nasr also narrated it from this chain.] And from Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him: May Allah have mercy on a servant whose good deeds are not invalidated by his bad deeds. And it was said: Do not invalidate them by disobedience. And from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: Do not invalidate them by showing off and seeking reputation. And from him: By doubt and hypocrisy. And it was said: By arrogance, for arrogance consumes good deeds just as fire consumes wood. And it was said: And do not invalidate your charity by boasting and causing harm.