Tafseer of Hud · Hud · 11:21
Those are the ones who will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the meaning of the words of Allah, the Exalted: أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ (They are those who have lost themselves, and that which they used to fabricate has vanished from them.) (21)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah, exalted be His praise, says: These — those who possess these characteristics — are the ones who have wronged themselves with respect to their share in the mercy of Allah, and that which they used to fabricate has vanished from them. Their lie, their deception, and their falsehood against Allah have been brought to nothing, because they ascribed partners (shirk) to Him. That which they invoked as a god besides Allah took a path other than theirs and turned onto a road other than their road, so that it vanished from them — for it led them to the Fire (jahannam), and their gods came to nothing, to nothingness, because in the worldly life they were only stones, wood, or copper. Or, had such a one been a friend of Allah, then it would have led him to the Garden (janna) — but that too is a path other than theirs, and that too is a vanishing from them.
