وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَدْعُونَ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَظَنُّوا۟ مَا لَهُم مِّن مَّحِيصٍ 48
Translations
And lost from them will be those they were invoking before, and they will be certain that they have no place of escape.
Transliteration
Wa dalla 'anhum maa kanu yad'un min qablu wa zannuu maa lahum min mahis
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the state of the disbelievers on the Day of Judgment when their false deities and intercessors will have abandoned them, and they will realize there is no escape from Allah's punishment. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir explain that those whom they invoked besides Allah (idols, saints, angels) will deny any relationship with them and offer no help, leaving them in complete despair and hopelessness before their Lord's justice.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Fussilat, a Meccan chapter that extensively discusses the Day of Judgment and the fate of believers versus disbelievers. The broader context (ayahs 41:45-48) illustrates the ultimate rejection and abandonment that awaits those who rejected Allah's signs and relied on false objects of worship during their worldly life.
Related Hadiths
The concept relates to the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet (ﷺ) describes how on the Day of Judgment, people will seek intercession from various prophets, but only Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) will be granted it by Allah. This reinforces that only Allah grants true salvation, and false deities provide no refuge.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a stark warning that reliance on anything other than Allah—whether material wealth, false gods, or human intermediaries—will ultimately fail us. It encourages believers to place their trust solely in Allah and to recognize that on the Day of Judgment, only sincere devotion to the One True God will provide refuge.
Related Ayahs
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْجَمْعِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلتَّغَابُنِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ وَيَعْمَلْ صَـٰلِحًا يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِۦ وَيُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
The Day He will assemble you for the Day of Assembly - that is the Day of Deprivation. And whoever believes in Allāh and does righteousness - He will remove from him his misdeeds and admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.
قُل لِّلَّهِ ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةُ جَمِيعًا ۖ لَّهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
Say, "To Allāh belongs [the right to allow] intercession entirely. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him you will be returned."
يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَتَأْتُونَ أَفْوَاجًا
The Day the Horn is blown and you will come forth in multitudes
إِذَا ٱلشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ
When the sun is wrapped up [in darkness]