The Losers - 1
Archived under My Writings , Tazkiyyah .
Author: Umm Junayd
Says Allaah:
"Say: "Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds?''
Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds." [Soorah al-Kahf: 103-104]
When I first read these aayaat I thought "subhaanAllaah, that's me". I'm sure you've experienced this feeling many times when reading the Qur`aan; you feel that Allaah is talking directly to you – and He is.
How true the above aayaat are – many people think that they are being rewarded for the good that they do whilst it's all in vain. "This is going to get me to heaven," they think, but as Allaah says, they are 'the greatest losers in respect to their deeds'.
When I took the time to look into the Tafseer of these aayaat, this is what I found:
Al-Bukhari recorded from `Amr that Mus`ab who said: "I asked my father -- meaning Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas -- about Allah's saying,
[قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم بِالاٌّخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَـلاً ]
(Say: "Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds'') `Are they the Haruriyyah' He said, `No, they are the Jews and Christians. As for the Jews, they disbelieved in Muhammad , and as for the Christians, they disbelieved in Paradise and said that there is no food or drink there, and the Haruriyyah are those who break Allah's covenant after ratifying it.' Sa`d used to call them Al-Fasiqin (the corrupt). `Ali bin Abi Talib, Ad-Dahhak and others said: "They are the Haruriyyah,'' so this means, that according to `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, this Ayah includes the Haruriyyah just as it includes the Jews, the Christians and others. This does not mean that the Ayah was revealed concerning any of these groups in particular; it is more general than that, because the Ayah was revealed in Makkah, before the Qur'an addressed the Jews and Christians, and before the Khawarij existed at all. So the Ayah is general and refers to everyone who worships Allah in a way that is not acceptable, thinking that he is right in doing that and that his deeds will be accepted, but he is mistaken and his deeds will be rejected, as Allah says:
[وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَـشِعَةٌ - عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ - تَصْلَى نَاراً حَامِيَةً ]
(Some faces, that Day will be humiliated. Laboring, weary. They will enter in the hot blazing Fire.) [88:2-4]
[وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً ]
(And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.) [25:23]
[وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَعْمَـلُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَآءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئاً]
(As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing) [24:39]
And in this ayah Allah says:
[قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم]
(Say: "Shall We tell you...'') meaning, `Shall We inform you;'
[بِالاٌّخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَـلاً]
(the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds) Then Allah explains who they are, and says:
[الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا]
(Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life) meaning, they did deeds that do not count, deeds that are not in accordance with the prescribed way that is acceptable to Allah.
[وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا]
(while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.) means, they thought that there was some basis for their deeds and that they were accepted and loved.
So from this what do we learn? Well, firstly (according to the tafseer), it in essence refers to the disbelievers, as the next aayah shows:
"They are those who deny the Ayat of their Lord and the meeting with Him. So their works are in vain, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall assign no weight for them."
We can see how important it is to look to the aayah before and after particular verses, as some may be misinterpreted on their own.
Inshaa`Allaah there'll be more points of benefit in the next installment.
alhamdulillah..
thank you sister for reminding me of this.. :)