An-Naml · Makki · ayah 5 of 93

An-Naml 27:5

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَهُمْ سُوٓءُ ٱلْعَذَابِ وَهُمْ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمُ ٱلْأَخْسَرُونَ

“Those are the ones for whom there will be the worst of punishment, and in the Hereafter they are the greatest losers.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Deeds made to look lovely end in a punishment too ugly to face, and in the greatest loss of all: the place that was waiting.

A reflection

The empty chair with your name on it

Why the greatest losers? Loss is usually measured against what you had. The Quran measures it against what was waiting for you.

A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari makes this painfully concrete. The Prophet ﷺ said that nobody enters Paradise without being shown his seat in the Fire, had he done wrong. It is shown so that his gratitude grows. And nobody enters the Fire without being shown his seat in Paradise, had he done well. It is shown so that it becomes a grief for him.

One classical commentator draws the same line from this ayah. Every person who is answerable has a place prepared in Paradise if they obey. Whoever turns away has lost that place. Another commentator adds a further loss. Had they believed, they would have been among the witnesses over all nations. They lost that standing as well as their safety.

At a university graduation the front rows are reserved for the graduates. Each chair has a printed card with a name on it. In the middle of the third row, one chair stays empty all afternoon. The card is still there. The student left in the final term, a few months short. The ceremony goes on around the gap.

That is the shape of al-akhsarūn. The deniers did not merely fail to gain. They were expected. A place had their name on it.

There is mercy hidden in this, for anyone still alive to read it. The chair is still there. The card has not been taken away. Nothing in the ayah says your seat is gone while you can still walk towards it.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.