الَّذينَ ضَلَّ سَعيُهُم فِي الحَياةِ الدُّنيا وَهُم يَحسَبونَ أَنَّهُم يُحسِنونَ صُنعًا

Those whose endeavour goes awry in the life of the world, while they suppose they are doing good.’

EXEGESIS

Ḍalla (goes awry) comes from ḍalāl, which means the opposite of guidance, for something to go where it should not have gone.^{‎[1]Tahqiq, 7/28, ḍ-l-l.} Here it means it has passed them by and been destroyed.^{‎[2]Tibyan, 7/97.}

Yuḥsinūna ṣunʿan (they are doing good): yuḥsinūn comes from ḥusn meaning that which is good. Ṣunʿ means to make something with care and attention to detail.^{‎[3]Tahqiq, 6/285, ṣ-n-ʿ.} This allows us to understand that the verse is not speaking of those who did their actions without giving it proper thought, but rather those who have considered the value of their action and then misjudged it direly.

EXPOSITION

This verse informs us of those who are the biggest losers with regards to their works. The scope is general and includes everyone who expends their efforts in other than the true obedience of God.

Those whose endeavour goes awry: at times a person will undertake the path of truth and successfully direct his efforts towards that which is good. Other times he may make mistakes and be ignorant, in which case his efforts are lost, but there is still hope that some of those actions may be accepted and that God will reward him. However, those who choose the path of falsehood and rebellion against God, their actions are all lost and they have no hope of reaching any reward through them. These are the ones whose endeavour goes awry.^{‎[4]Mizan, 13/399.} Even the one who does wrong but understands what he does is wrong has hope, for he may one day correct himself, which is far less likely for the one who thinks his evil deeds are actually good.^{‎[5]Tantawi, 8/584.}

There is some debate as to who is intended by this verse:

1. Ṭabrisī says it intends the Jews and Christians.^{‎[6]Tabrisi, 6/767; Tabari, 16/26-27.} Others have specified this to be their monks who seclude themselves in monasteries.^{‎[7]Tabari, 16/26-27; Baghawi, 3/221.}
2. Qurṭubī says it means that they will do good actions in this world such as worship and the likes, but because of their false beliefs or lack of abiding by them as they should, their actions are not accepted.^{‎[8]See for example Qurtubi, 11/65.}
3. Abū Ḥayyān says it intends all the non-Muslims.^{‎[9]Muhit, 7/230.}
4. Tabatabai suggests that the polytheists are intended because they are described later as the ones who deny the signs of their Lord and the encounter with Him (verse 105), which he argues fits the polytheists.^{‎[10]Mizan, 13/399.}
5. Rāzī says it is the ones who do actions thinking these actions are obedience to God, whilst in reality they are sins.^{‎[11]Razi, 21/501.}

Actually, the verse is general in its scope and includes all those various groups,^{‎[12]Tantawi, 8/584.} and more, as explained in the commentary of the next verse.

In the life of the world: the verse would have made sense without this phrase of course, which causes us to pause and think why it is included. This addition is important as it acts to enlarge the scope of the verse. There are two types of people whose actions have gone awry. There are those who did what they did for the sake of worldly gain, whilst others who did so with the hope of gain in the hereafter. This phrase tells us that both of those have had their works go astray already, in the life of the world. The ones who committed wrong actions, hoping for a reward in the hereafter, have not gained anything for themselves through that, either in this life or the next. Someone who for example spends a life in service to idols will not be rewarded by God for that service. Nor will the one who spreads oppression and murders innocents, thinking this is what God has commanded him to do, they are the ones whose works have failed in this world and the hereafter (2:217).

However, this verse in question does not speak of the hereafter, leading us to understand that it addresses also those who do not act for the hereafter, rather seeking only the life of this world. We are told the one who decided to spend his life in pursuit of worldly pleasures, he too will see his actions go awry, already, in the life of the world. Often people think they know how to reach happiness in this world and turn away from God’s reminders thinking they know best how to achieve that themselves. Yet in reality, the path of God is the one which leads to true happiness both in this world and the hereafter. The liberal lifestyle of many people and their hedonistic pursuit for happiness often does not produce the intended result and instead leaves people feeling unhappy and unfulfilled. The lifestyle of the shariah is actually the best pathway to happiness in this life and the next. Meanwhile, many ignore that and strive for the life of this world, yet its true satisfaction eludes them, although they may garner some brief pleasures here and there. In reality, there is no true bliss even possible in this world, as it is all just glitter (zīnah): As for those who desire the life of this world and its glitter, We will recompense them fully for their works therein, and they shall not be underpaid in it. They are the ones for whom there shall be nothing in the hereafter but fire: what they had accomplished in the world has failed, and their works have come to naught (11:15-16).

This is the boon of the ‘true account’. God knows what path leads to actual happiness for mankind and what is simply wasted effort or self-inflicted harm brought about through ignorance.

While they suppose they are doing good: both the aforementioned groups naturally think their actions are good and desirable. Yet their supposition here is the opposite of knowledge.^{‎[13]Tibyan, 7/97.} It is speculation based on limited knowledge and perception; a myopia that causes them and their actions to go astray. The one who worships idols or kills innocents does so basking in his presumed certainty that he is pleasing his deity. So too the one who commits every sin and indecency while worshipping at the altar of greed or lust, thinking his actions are pure and dignified.

Makārim Shīrāzī mentions more specific reasons as to why people might perceive their evil actions as good. One such reason is being tricked by the lies of others or Satan, as we have in the verse, Is someone the evil of whose conduct is presented as decorous to him, so he regards it as good? (35:8). Another is a person’s pride, which makes him think he can do no wrong, like in the verse, To Pharaoh was thus presented as decorous the evil of his conduct (40:37).^{‎[14]Nemuneh, 12/566.}

Makārim Shīrāzī also deliberates another reason as to why such people can be considered the biggest losers in regard to works (verse 103). He points out that since they suppose they are doing good they will differ from those who might commit misdeeds, but who at least realise they are doing something wrong. The latter group might still have some sort of boundaries to their actions, or exercise some sort of caution, and they might even regret and repent for their actions. Meanwhile, those who think their misdeeds are righteous would eagerly rush to do more.^{‎[15]Nemuneh, 12/563-564.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. According to a report, the Kharijite Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked Imam Ali (a) about this verse, to which he replied: ‘You and your companions are amongst them and they are the ones whose endeavour goes awry in the life of the world.’^{‎[16]Tibyan, 7/97. See also Tabari, 16/28.}
2. In another report, Imam Ali (a) tells Ibn al-Kawwāʾ: ‘They are the People of the Book, who have disbelieved in their Lord and innovated in their religion. Their works have failed and the people of Nahrawān [the Kharijites] are not far from them.’^{‎[17]Ayyashi, 2/352.}

Note: In another report attributed to Imam Ali (a) he says they are the monks and priests who have secluded themselves in monasteries.^{‎[18]Thalabi, 6/200.}

3. From Muhammad ibn Faḍl, that Imam al-Kāẓim (a) said regarding this verse: ‘It is the ones who are able to go forth for the obligatory hajj pilgrimage, yet delay it.’^{‎[19]Nur, 3/311.}

Note: These types of narrations are applications of the verse and are not to be understood as limiting its scope to these instances only.

4. From Ali ibn Suwayd, that he asked Imam al-Kāẓim (a) about the conceit (ʿujb) that corrupts one’s actions, to which the Imam offered the explanation: ‘Conceit is of different levels. One of these is where a servant [of God’s] evil actions are beautified and he thinks them as good, and he supposes he is doing good. Another type is where the servant believes in his Lord and thinks that he has done a service to God by doing that, whilst it is God who has done a service to him.’^{‎[20]Kafi, 2/313; Maani, pp. 243-244.}

Note: This report points out the root cause for this false beautification of evil actions as being conceit: pride that causes one to think they know better than God.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Ṭabrisī considers the verse to be about the People of the Book and says Those whose endeavour goes awry means their actions are void (bāṭil) or their reasoning (ijtihād) has been mistaken.^{‎[21]Tabrisi, 6/767; Baghawi, 3/221.}

Ṭūsī uses this verse to point out that religious truths are not necessarily self-evident, because if those people knew the truth about God out of necessity, they would not have reached mistaken conclusions about Him and the value of their actions, since self-evident and necessary truths cannot be doubted or mistook for something else.^{‎[22]Tibyan, 7/97.} Ṭabarī follows a similar reasoning and says this verse is the clearest evidence against those who argue that kufr can only occur after someone has achieved knowledge about the oneness of God and then denied it. He argues that the verse describes those who have striven towards Him, whilst the next describes them as being kuffār (faithless). If kufr was based only on knowledge, then they should be rewarded for their actions, not punished, since they did it while thinking it is good.^{‎[23]Tabari, 16/28.}

Without a doubt, kufr is not just the act of denying the oneness of God or His existence, but has a far wider meaning and can be different things, for example in this surah one aspect of that is constantly pointed out, which is to deny the absolute sovereignty of God over all things as we discussed in the commentary on verse 37. In this case, they might be believers in God, but they may have for example denied parts of His message or some of His commands, thinking they themselves know better. Actions are not meritorious and virtuous just because a person believes they are, but rather good is an objective reality; in fact, most people probably believe themselves to be righteous and their actions good. The correct view is that ethical values are real. Ethical realism (known in Arabic as al-ḥusn wa al-qubḥ al-dhātiyayn) is opposed to the idea of moral relativism so popular today.

In any case, this does not mean that Ṭabarī’s assessment can be accepted at face value. It is true that kufr is defined as the denial of knowledge, They impugned them wrongfully and defiantly – though they were convinced in their hearts (27:14), but kufr cannot be defined simply as the lack of awareness of something; that is jahl (ignorance), not kufr. Kufr is the denial of proof that has come to a person, The faithless from among the People of the Book and the polytheists were not set apart until the proof had come to them (98:1). Once a person becomes aware of the truth and understands it for what it is, but then for one reason or another decides to deny it, he has become guilty of kufr.

In this case, the scope of the verse we are dealing with is large, it includes all the people who deny God’s signs and His messages, reminders, and rulings, thinking they themselves know better and can best discern the path of righteousness. The main point of the surah has of course been to point out how all evidence suggests that man cannot discern the consequences of his actions fully, therefore how foolish is he to think he knows better than God, who is in possession of the ‘true account’ of all things.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.^{‎[24]1 Timothy 6:10.}

[1] Tahqiq, 7/28, ḍ-l-l.
[2] Tibyan, 7/97.
[3] Tahqiq, 6/285, ṣ-n-ʿ.
[4] Mizan, 13/399.
[5] Tantawi, 8/584.
[6] Tabrisi, 6/767; Tabari, 16/26-27.
[7] Tabari, 16/26-27; Baghawi, 3/221.
[8] See for example Qurtubi, 11/65.
[9] Muhit, 7/230.
[10] Mizan, 13/399.
[11] Razi, 21/501.
[12] Tantawi, 8/584.
[13] Tibyan, 7/97.
[14] Nemuneh, 12/566.
[15] Nemuneh, 12/563-564.
[16] Tibyan, 7/97. See also Tabari, 16/28.
[17] Ayyashi, 2/352.
[18] Thalabi, 6/200.
[19] Nur, 3/311.
[20] Kafi, 2/313; Maani, pp. 243-244.
[21] Tabrisi, 6/767; Baghawi, 3/221.
[22] Tibyan, 7/97.
[23] Tabari, 16/28.
[24] 1 Timothy 6:10.