2.15 Al-Baqarah: The Traits of Human Loss

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

All praise belongs to Allah, the Most High and Most Great. May countless blessings be upon our Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ, and may Allah be pleased with all of his Companions.

Today we will share a topic: in the Qur’an, the word الْخَاسِرِين appears 65 times. It means those who are in loss, those who suffer loss.

Since it is mentioned 65 times in the Qur’an, it is something worth understanding. Of course, this “loss” is spoken of in relation to human beings. In tafsir, Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) explained that when the Qur’an speaks of loss in relation to non-Muslims, it refers to their lack of faith; and when it speaks of loss in relation to believers, it refers to sinful matters found among them. Some scholars also explained that “human beings are in loss” means that human beings have let go of the merciful blessings our Lord granted us for doing good, and so they have become losers. What I would like to share with everyone is the numerical subtlety of this word—“loss” and “being in loss”—which appears 65 times in the Qur’an, as a way of witnessing the beauty of the Qur’an.

When speaking of loss, some people lose in both worlds: they gain neither the blessings of this world nor those of the Hereafter. Yet our Lord is the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. He has given us the ability to attain the blessings of both worlds, and He has told us that man has indeed been created in the best form. But if man does not worship his Lord, he falls to the lowest of the low. Those who can become the most noble—those whose final abode is the noble Garden, those who attain blessings in both worlds—are certainly not at a loss, nor are they losers. As for the hypocrites who fall to the lowest depth, they are in the lowest part of the Fire. They are losers in both worlds; they are those who have lost their very capital. Some scholars directly explained this “loss” to mean that such people have lost what their Lord prepared for them for the Last Day—mercy. In this world, they threw away the mercy that Allah granted humanity so that we might attain blessings in both worlds. When a person throws away the blessing of mercy that the Lord has given, then of course he becomes a loser in both worlds.

The hypocrite is, of course, the clearest example. He has only himself. He has none of the qualities of mercy. He cannot become a sign of the merciful attributes of our Lord. The hypocrite is the one who has suffered the greatest loss. Precisely because the hypocrites are the people of the lowest level of the Fire, they are the people with the greatest loss. So in the Qur’an, the first verse that speaks of loss and being in loss first sets out the matter of the hypocrites. In Surah al-Baqarah, verse 27, our Lord tells us:

{الَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ أُولَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُون}[البقرة:27]

2:27 those who violate Allah’s covenant after it has been affirmed, break whatever ˹ties˺ Allah has ordered to be maintained, and spread corruption in the land. It is they who are the ˹true˺ losers.

The hypocrites are the ones who lose the most. In the order of the Qur’an, they are mentioned first. This is from the wisdom of our Lord, causing us to praise Him and receive guidance. In that same order, the last verse in the Qur’an that mentions loss is in Surah al-ʿAsr. After swearing by Time, our Lord says that all mankind is surely in loss:

{إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْر}[العصر:2]

103:2 Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss,

Who, then, is not in loss and can escape this harm? They are those of whom Allah says:

{إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْر}[العصر:3]

103:3 except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance.

This verse tells us that mankind is truly in loss, except those who believe and do righteous deeds. Belief, of course, means sound faith. Righteous deeds include the goodness that our Lord has guided us to in our conduct as human beings, in our path to Him, and in our personal cultivation. It means doing good in every area until one reaches the quality of ihsan—spiritual excellence: worship your Lord as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He surely sees you. Only then does one truly reach the reality of excellent reward and become one who is not in loss.

And our Lord tells us to urge one another to the truth. That means we must know something of the truth. Beyond seeking the blessings of the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, and uncovering the hidden realities of the material world through scientific demonstration, there are also the hidden realities of the soul and the unseen world. These can only be known through the revelation of our Lord. We come to know the truth through His Book.

At the same time, in seeking the blessings contained in the Divine Decree, and in uncovering the mysteries of creation, we must follow the manner of righteous action that He prescribed for us. Through that, we come to know Him and worship Him. And in the course of worshipping Him, through our own varied experiences, we come once more to know Him. For example, some of the divine attributes are only known by human beings through lived experience after worship. Allah says that among His servants are messengers, prophets, and friends of Allah, until He loves them, is pleased with them, and accepts their righteous deeds and acts of worship. Then He becomes the foot with which they walk, the hand with which they take, the ear with which they hear, and the eye with which they see. Such servants experience Allah’s help, and from that they bear witness that our Lord is not constrained by any prior determination. So from the miracles, graces, and favors that appear through these servants, one comes to know that when Allah says “Be,” it is. He is not bound by any prior determination. He is the Lord of the Divine Decree. He is truly absolutely free. In this way, they witness those divine attributes through direct experience.

To urge one another to the truth means not only that one seeks guidance from one’s Lord, uncovering the hidden realities of divine determination and receiving blessings, but also that in the course of worship one comes to know one’s Lord, worships Him, associates nothing with Him, and then proclaims the blessings one has received by urging others to the truth, so as not to be in loss, and to finally become noble people—people whose destination is Paradise.

There is also another essential quality: urging one another to perseverance. Human beings are bodily creatures, and they were created with weakness. Human nature also carries various desires that seek fulfillment. Beyond that, man’s clear enemy, Satan, constantly tempts him, drawing him to follow his lower desires, to commit sins and suffer loss, and to refuse steadfastness in doing good. He may even lack complete certainty in the beautiful final abode that will only be fully witnessed in the Hereafter, and so he often becomes negligent. Human beings were also created for life in community; they cannot survive as isolated individuals. Because of these qualities, human beings need one another. At times, some are in the midst of difficult trials, while others have already gone through such trials and gained experience. Those people should encourage others toward perseverance and help them through hardship. This too is among the qualities of those who are not in loss, and it shows the collective spirit of humanity.

From this verse we learn how to stay far from loss. There must be people who possess these qualities: they must believe, they must do good, they must urge one another to the truth—so they themselves must possess the truth—and they must urge one another to perseverance. They must strive for the common good of humanity. So we can learn that those farthest from loss are, of course, the prophets and messengers, and those who follow their path: the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. In the Qur’an, Allah says that these are the people upon whom He has bestowed His favor. They are the ones truly far from loss. If we do not follow their path, then whose path should we follow? As for those who follow any path other than theirs, they are surely among the people of loss, the ones who have lost their whole capital.

The Reflection on the Number 65

Now let us reflect on the mystery of the number 65 by first breaking it down as 13 × 5 = 65. We first need to understand how the number 13 is reached. It is not imagined out of thin air. The number 13 has the greatest importance for us as human beings. If a person attains what is contained in this number 13, then he is a successful person. How do we understand this? The six pillars of faith certainly make one a believer. The essential completion of the five foundational acts of worship is surely among the blessings Allah gives to people. Then there are the two realities of ihsan. Beyond the five acts of worship, we also have so much personal cultivation to undertake, and in the face of human life and creation we have many good deeds to perform. These deeds must contain ihsan: first, worship your Lord as though you see Him; second, if you do not see Him, He sees you. These are the two dimensions of ihsan. The six pillars of faith, the five foundational acts of worship, and these two realities of ihsan add up to 13. When a person possesses these 13 elements and qualities, he is far from loss.

But we must go further and ask: what is the capital our Lord has given us so that we may attain these 13 things? What is our principal? The answer is: the human being himself.

Now let us read the five elements of human capital that must not be lost—the capital by which one does good.

First, we are physical human beings.

Second, our Lord has given us a soul—ruh (رُوح). Once this ruh enters the body, we possess human nature, the content of nafs (نفس). When facing the various realities of creation, a person turns toward things according to his own needs. He notices all that concerns him, all that relates to what his human nature requires. He develops self-awareness, and because of that self-awareness, he has a strong perception of existence.

Third, because the ruh and the body are joined, a human being has life. Without life, how could he do good? If a person has already returned to his Lord and this worldly life is no longer there, then he can no longer use this worldly medium to seek the blessings of the Hereafter. So these three are all part of our capital.

Fourth, within the inner life there is also our important ʿaql (عقل): our reason, intellect, intelligence, and wisdom. These are among our forms of capital and principal.

Even if a person possesses these four forms of capital—his body exists, his life exists, his nafs is aware of itself, and it is also aware that the surrounding material world exists, and he also possesses ʿaql, intelligence, and wisdom—still, if he has no motivation, no interest, no preference, no emotional demand, then he will not seek those blessings. The whole person will not want to move.

Fifth, our Lord therefore also created in us a strong inward drive that seeks fulfillment. This spiritual interest includes emotional needs—such as love. It includes the human need for love, the drive toward satisfaction, and hawa (هوى), inward inclination. This too is an important form of capital Allah has given humanity so that we may pursue the good.

These five aspects are all forms of capital that human beings have been given. Of course, if there were no guidance from our Creator, who created us and regulated for us how to use these five great forms of capital to seek the blessings of both worlds, then if human beings simply followed their own will in these five matters and did whatever they pleased, the result would not be the attainment of blessing. Instead, in these very five matters they would become people of loss. Some would display the qualities of hypocrisy, some false belief, and some even disbelief. If they did not use these five forms of capital well and beautifully, then they would still be in loss, and the end point would be the Fire.

In summary: whoever uses these five forms of capital to attain those 13 blessings—the six pillars of faith, the five foundational acts of worship, and the experiential reality of the two qualities of ihsan—has made a tremendous profit with his capital. So we say: 13 × 5 = 65. Whoever possesses all these things is, of course, far from loss. If these five forms of capital are thrown away and one does not seek the content of those 13 blessings, then that person is truly one who has lost his capital and fallen into loss. So 13 × 5 = 65 is something we should remember and reflect on, and we ask our Lord to guide us so that we do not become people of loss.

Verses on Denying Faith, Islam, and Ihsan

Now let us read the verses about loss that speak of denying true faith, Islam, and ihsan. In Surah al-Ma’idah, verse 5, our Lord tells us:

{الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَّكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلُّ لَّهُمْ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ وَلاَ مُتَّخِذِي أَخْدَانٍ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ وَهُوَ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِين}[المائدة:5]

5:5 Today all good, pure foods have been made lawful for you. Similarly, the food of the People of the Book1 is permissible for you and yours is permissible for them. And ˹permissible for you in marriage˺ are chaste believing women as well as chaste women of those given the Scripture before you—as long as you pay them their dowries in wedlock, neither fornicating nor taking them as mistresses. And whoever rejects the faith, all their good deeds will be void ˹in this life˺ and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.

In Surah Āl ʿImrān, verse 85, we learn:

{وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِين}[آل عمران:85]

3:85 Whoever seeks a way other than Islam, it will never be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.

In Surah al-Anʿām, verse 31, our Lord tells us that those who deny meeting Allah have surely suffered loss:

{قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِلِقَاء اللّهِ حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءتْهُمُ السَّاعَةُ بَغْتَةً قَالُواْ يَاحَسْرَتَنَا عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِيهَا وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَهُمْ عَلَى ظُهُورِهِمْ أَلاَ سَاء مَا يَزِرُون}[الأنعام:31]

6:31 Losers indeed are those who deny the meeting with Allah until the Hour takes them by surprise, then they will cry, “Woe to us for having ignored this!” They will bear ˹the burden of˺ their sins on their backs. Evil indeed is their burden!

Those who deny meeting Allah are the people who do not possess ihsan. In what they do, they do not truly know, nor do they believe that they will meet their Lord. So they have no ihsan.

The Five Forms of Capital That Can Be Lost

Now I will read five passages in which the five blessings Allah gave to human beings become, instead, matters of loss. Let us begin with the body. If one has a body, then one has actions. So let us read the verses about those who are the greatest losers in their actions. In Surah al-Kahf, our Lord says:

{قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالاً}[الكهف:103]

18:103 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Shall we inform you of who will be the biggest losers of deeds?

{الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا}[الكهف:104]

18:104 ˹They are˺ those whose efforts are in vain in this worldly life, while they think they are doing good!”

{أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلاَ نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا}[الكهف:105]

18:105 It is they who reject the signs of their Lord and their meeting with Him, rendering their deeds void, so We will not give their deeds any weight on Judgment Day.

These verses do not only speak of those who suffer loss in their deeds; they also show that their very lives have become a loss. For they denied meeting their Lord. We human beings have this life, and part of what it means is that we must believe we will meet our Lord, that He will resurrect us, and that in the Hereafter He will give us a recompense in everlasting life. Concerning this, in Surah Yunus, verse 45, we learn that for such people even life itself becomes loss:

{وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ كَأَن لَّمْ يَلْبَثُواْ إِلاَّ سَاعَةً مِّنَ النَّهَارِ يَتَعَارَفُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِلِقَاء اللّهِ وَمَا كَانُواْ مُهْتَدِين}[يونس:45]

10:45 On the Day He will gather them, it will be as if they had not stayed ˹in the world˺ except for an hour of a day,1 ˹as though they were only˺ getting to know one another. Lost indeed will be those who denied the meeting with Allah, and were not ˹rightly˺ guided!

As for the ways in which human nature—nafs—can suffer loss and ruin, there are many verses in the Qur’an. I will read verse 15 of Surah al-Zumar:

{فَاعْبُدُوا مَا شِئْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَلاَ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِين}[الزمر:15]

39:15 Worship then whatever ˹gods˺ you want instead of Him.” Say, “The ˹true˺ losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on Judgment Day. That is indeed the clearest loss.”

Here we see the phrase خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِم. The word anfusahum is used here, pointing to the loss of the human self. It shows that people whose human nature did not worship their Lord and attain guidance will witness the loss of their own selves after the Resurrection.

As for those who were given reason and intellect to do good, but did not use reason, intelligence, and understanding for good, and so became losers, let us read Surah al-Anbiya, verse 70:

{وَأَرَادُوا بِهِ كَيْدًا فَجَعَلْنَاهُمُ الأَخْسَرِين}[الأنبياء:70]

21:70 They had sought to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.

The people of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did not accept the truth. On the contrary, they opposed it. They did not use the blessing of reason that had been given to them to think rightly. Instead, they used their minds to plot harm, even openly trying to burn the one who possessed the truth. So would you not say that their minds had become a loss? They had utterly lost reason. They worshipped idols. This is one of the clearest examples: they lost the very reason they had been given.

As for the human being’s spiritual inclination—which should become a driving force by which he seeks what satisfies him and brings him joy—when this too becomes a matter of loss, it is because he followed falsehood rather than supporting the truth. Let us read a verse from Surah Ghafir, verse 78. Our Lord tells us:

{وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلاً مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا جَاء أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُون}[غافر:78]

40:78 We already sent messengers before you. We have told you the stories of some of them, while others We have not. It was not for any messenger to bring a sign without Allah’s permission. But when Allah’s decree comes, judgment will be passed with fairness, and the people of falsehood will then be in ˹total˺ loss.

If a person uses his inward inclination to attain power, reputation, honor, wealth, children, and all kinds of satisfaction, but does not use these things to do good, and does not support the truth, then he is a person of falsehood. He did not use his inward drive to seek the truth, and the wealth, power, reputation, honor, money, children, and other blessings he attained through that drive were not used to support the path of his Lord. Worse still, he may use these blessings to support falsehood and oppose the path of Allah. Such a person is exactly as this verse says: خَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُون—there the people of falsehood are the losers.

The Many Signs of Loss in the Qur’an

Of course, the Qur’an contains many more verses describing different kinds of loss in detail. For example, it describes the first human being to fall into such loss—the son of Adam (peace be upon him). The two brothers offered a sacrifice to their Lord. Our Lord accepted only the offering of the one who had taqwa and accepted his good deed, but He did not accept the offering of the one who was not among the people of taqwa. Because he was stirred by the lower desires of his human self, he killed his brother and became the first loser among humankind.

If we study the verses carefully, we will discover that our Lord has described the many different characteristics of human loss. Today I can only list and analyze them briefly. Precisely because more than sixty verses in the Qur’an mention the many signs of loss and being in loss, when we recite and study the Qur’an, if we find in ourselves some quality of loss in any area, then we should immediately ask our Lord for forgiveness and make a pure repentance. If one has wronged creation and wronged people, then one must also seek their pardon and restore what was lost. Only such a person can truly become one of the people of taqwa, receive acceptance from his Lord, and become someone who has moved far from harming himself, far from the traits of loss and ruin, and who in the end attains blessings in both worlds and becomes successful in both worlds.

Closing with Surah al-ʿAsr

Finally, let us once more recite Surah al-ʿAsr to conclude our topic:

{وَالْعَصْر}[العصر:1]

103:1 By the ˹passage of˺ time!

{إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْر}[العصر:2]

103:2 Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss,

103:3 except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance.

We ask our Lord to guide us to value our time, and to make us among those who receive good reward in both worlds. آمين Pronunciation: Āmīn Translation: Amen.

This is where I will end today’s sharing. If there was any slip of the tongue or anything unclear in my explanation, I ask Allah, Most High and Most Great, to forgive me, and I ask the readers for their understanding. Thank you, everyone, for sharing.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Qur’an translation source: The Clear Qur’an — Dr. Mustafa Khattab.

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