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
قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ فَٱسْتَقِيمُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ وَٱسْتَغْفِرُوهُ ۗ وَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُشْرِكِينَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "I am only a man like you to whom it has been revealed that your god is but one God; so take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness." And woe to those who associate others with Allāh
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]
فَلَنُذِيقَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَسْوَأَ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
But We will surely cause those who disbelieve to taste a severe punishment, and We will surely recompense them for the worst of what they had been doing.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِٱلذِّكْرِ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ ۖ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَكِتَـٰبٌ عَزِيزٌ
Indeed, those who disbelieve in the message [i.e., the Qur’ān] after it has come to them... And indeed, it is a mighty Book.