وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَىٰكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ 23
Translations
And that was your assumption which you assumed about your Lord. It has brought you to ruin, and you have become among the losers."
Transliteration
Wa-dhālikum ẓannukumu alladhī ẓanantum bi-rabbikum ardājakum fa-aṣbaḥtum mina al-khāsirīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the false assumptions and evil thoughts that the disbelievers harbored about Allah—suspecting Him of injustice, denying His promises, and disbelieving in the Hereafter. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, these corrupt beliefs and doubts about Allah's nature and justice became the very cause of their ruin and loss in both worlds, as they were consumed by their own misguided assumptions rather than seeking true knowledge of their Lord.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Fussilat (a Meccan surah), which addresses the disbelievers' rejection of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. The broader context (verses 21-24) describes how the disbelievers will be confronted with their evil deeds and false beliefs on the Day of Judgment, making this ayah part of a powerful warning about the consequences of harboring negative assumptions about Allah.
Related Hadiths
Related to the theme of good assumptions about Allah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Let none of you die except while having good thoughts about Allah' (Sahih Muslim 2877). Also relevant is the hadith about avoiding suspicion: 'Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most false of talk' (Sahih Bukhari 5144).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that our assumptions and beliefs about Allah shape our eternal destiny—holding negative or doubting thoughts about His justice, wisdom, and promise leads to spiritual ruin. Believers should cultivate positive assumptions (husn al-dhann) about Allah and seek to truly know Him through His revelation rather than relying on conjecture and inherited doubts.
Related Ayahs
نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِىٓ أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ
We [angels] were your allies in worldly life and [are so] in the Hereafter. And you will have therein whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you request [or wish]
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ
Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds - for them is a reward uninterrupted.
فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا صَرْصَرًا فِىٓ أَيَّامٍ نَّحِسَاتٍ لِّنُذِيقَهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْخِزْىِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَخْزَىٰ ۖ وَهُمْ لَا يُنصَرُونَ
So We sent upon them a screaming wind during days of misfortune to make them taste the punishment of disgrace in the worldly life; but the punishment of the Hereafter is more disgracing, and they will not be helped.
وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَـٰهُ قُرْءَانًا أَعْجَمِيًّا لَّقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَا فُصِّلَتْ ءَايَـٰتُهُۥٓ ۖ ءَا۬عْجَمِىٌّ وَعَرَبِىٌّ ۗ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ ۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍ
And if We had made it a foreign [i.e., non-Arabic] Qur’ān, they would have said, "Why are its verses not explained in detail [in our language]? Is it a foreign [recitation] and an Arab [messenger]?" Say, "It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure." And those who do not believe - in their ears is deafness, and it is upon them blindness. Those are being called from a distant place.