48.23 – the customary way of God (concerning) those who have passed away before

The Arabic expression sunnat Allāh, “the customary way of Allah,” appears here and at 17.77; 33.38, 62; and 40.85. What do these verses mean to communicate about the Quran’s concept of God? This verse seems to mean that those who fight the “believers” will turn their backs (v. 22). At 17.77 and 40.85, the sunnat Allāh is Allah’s treatment of peoples before Islam, while 33.62 says that the capture and killing of hypocrites at the time of that recitation is the customary way of Allah. Different from all of these is 33.38. There the sunnat Allāh seems to relate to the prophet’s marriage to the former wife of Zayd.