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
ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُم بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ كَـٰفِرُونَ
Those who do not give zakāh, and in the Hereafter they are disbelievers.
وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ مِن فَوْقِهَا وَبَـٰرَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَآ أَقْوَٰتَهَا فِىٓ أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآئِلِينَ
And He placed on it [i.e., the earth] firmly set mountains over its surface, and He blessed it and determined therein its [creatures'] sustenance in four days without distinction - for [the information of] those who ask.
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ هَـٰذَا لِى وَمَآ أَظُنُّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَآئِمَةً وَلَئِن رُّجِعْتُ إِلَىٰ رَبِّىٓ إِنَّ لِى عِندَهُۥ لَلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ فَلَنُنَبِّئَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ
And if We let him taste mercy from Us after an adversity which has touched him, he will surely say, "This is [due] to me, and I do not think the Hour will occur; and [even] if I should be returned to my Lord, indeed, for me there will be with Him the best." But We will surely inform those who disbelieved about what they did, and We will surely make them taste a massive punishment.
بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَأَعْرَضَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ
As a giver of good tidings and a warner; but most of them turn away, so they do not hear.