Commentary
His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Those are the ones who have lost themselves, and what they used to invent has gone astray from them." "Certainly, they are the greatest losers in the Hereafter." "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds and humbled themselves to their Lord, those are the companions of Paradise; they will be therein forever." "The example of the two groups is like the blind and the deaf and the seeing and the hearing. Are they equal as an example? Will you not remember?"
"They have lost themselves" by the necessity of punishment upon them. There is no loss greater than the loss of the soul. And "and what they used to invent" means: they have perished and did not find it where they hoped for it. And "certainly" is a compound word from: "no," and from: "to commit," both of which are built.
And the meaning of "certainly" is: it is true. This is the view of Sibawayh and Al-Khalil. Some grammarians said: its meaning is: there is no doubt, no way, and it has been narrated from Al-Khalil. Al-Zajjaj said: "no" is a refutation against them, for what has preceded of all that came before it, and "to commit" means: to earn, meaning their action has earned them "that they are the greatest losers in the Hereafter." The position of "that" - according to the view of Sibawayh - is nominative, and its position according to the view of Al-Zajjaj - is accusative. Al-Kisai said its meaning is: there is no rejection or prevention.
Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: So "to commit" - according to this - is from the meaning of cutting. You say: I committed, meaning I cut. And it is according to the view of Al-Zajjaj from earning, and from it is the saying of the poet:
"The crime of a rising one in the head of a camel, you see for the bones of what it gathered a cross."
And the crime of the people is their earning.
As for the saying of the poet:
"And indeed, I stabbed Abu Umaymah with a stab, after which the Banu Fazarah committed that they would be angry."
It can bear both meanings, and the meaning of the verse differs.
And in "certainly" there are dialects: some Arabs say: "no, this is certainly," and some say: "no, that is certainly," and some say: "no, about this is certainly," and some say: "no, it is certain," they omitted the 'm' due to its frequent use.
And "humbled themselves" it was said: its meaning is: they were humble, as said by Qatadah. It was said: they turned back, as said by Ibn Abbas. It was said: they were at peace, as said by Mujahid. It was said: they feared, as said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them. These sayings are somewhat close to one another. The root of the word is from "khabt," which is the flat, open, level land. So the one who humbles himself in the open land has become exposed and surrendered and remained without any resistance. Thus, the humble and submissive is likened to that. It was said: it was derived from it due to its evenness and tranquility. And His saying: "to their Lord" it was said: it is in the meaning of 'for,' meaning they humbled themselves for their Lord. It was said: the meaning is they made their intention in their humbling to their Lord. And "the two groups" are the disbelievers and the believers: the disbeliever is likened to the blind and the deaf, and the believer is likened to the seeing and the hearing. Thus, this is a comparison with two examples. Some of the interpreters said: the estimation is like the blind and the deaf and the seeing and the hearing, and the conjunction 'and' has entered as you say: Zayd the wise and the generous came to me, and you want him specifically. Thus, this is a comparison with one example.
And as for "example" it is accusative as a distinction. And it can be a state.
Explore Other Scholars on This Verse
Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Hud verse 21