The Greatest Losers and the Infinite Words of Allah

The final section of this sūrah is afa-ḥasiba alladhīna kafarū an yattakhidhū ʿibādī min dūnī awliyāʾ, innā aʿtadnā jahannama lil-kāfirīna nuzulā. Several themes are gathered in this last part: the distinction between the people of Paradise and the people of the Fire. And Allah says, in verse 107, inna alladhīna āmanū wa ʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti kānat lahum jannātu al-firdawsi nuzulā — those who believe and do good deeds, for them is Jannat al-Firdaws as a dwelling; khālidīna fīhā lā yabghūna ʿanhā ḥiwalā, they will remain in it for ever and will not wish to be moved from it. The words of Allah (swt) here are very beautiful, and this last part repays reading in full.

Allah says, in verse 103, qul hal nunabbiʾukum bi-al-akhsarīna aʿmālā — say: shall you be told of those most lost in respect of deeds? Alladhīna ḍalla saʿyuhum fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā: those whose every effort in the life of this world has gone to waste, wa hum yaḥsabūna annahum yuḥsinūna ṣunʿā, while they suppose that they are doing good.

That is the shock of it, and the part that is truly serious: they supposed they were doing good. And there are many who do things either without sincerity, or who may have sincerity and yet do them wrongly — against Islam, while supposing they are helping Islam. Subḥān Allāh, they used to suppose they were doing good, and all of it will be redundant and go to waste. That is why Allah says fa-ḥabiṭat aʿmāluhum: their deeds are all cancelled.

In the last two verses Allah (swt) speaks of His own words. There was a case, and a reason, for the revelation of this verse, which need not be entered upon here but may be read of in the tafsīrs. In substance, what Allah (swt) says is that were all the oceans ink with which to write down all the words of Allah (swt), all those oceans would be exhausted before the words of Allah were complete. The words of Allah are without end — all the oceans, whether this means the words of Allah or the praise of Allah, cannot complete it, and would not complete it though everything were used. Wa law jiʾnā bi-mithlihi madadā: even were the like of it brought, another seven oceans — it is an example merely — it simply will not be. Many tafsīrs have treated this in great detail.

That is why the last verse is fa-man kāna yarjū liqāʾa rabbihi fal-yaʿmal ʿamalan ṣāliḥan — whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord should do righteous deeds — wa lā yushrik bi-ʿibādati rabbihi aḥadā, and should ascribe no partner in the worship of his Lord. May Allah grant us pure belief.

And the final lesson from the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn is that a man of authority has different people asking different things of him. In some places he was firm and had to punish; in some places he had to forgive; and, as the story shows, in the last he had to help them, using much of his own resource as well, and taking help from them. This gives a number of lessons: that a man in a position of authority needs empathy, and needs real concern, rather than merely filling a position.