Assuredly, it is they, in the Hereafter, who will be al-khāsirūn (the losers).
– an-Naḥl:109
Assuredly, it is they, in the Hereafter, who will be al-akhsarūn (the greatest losers).
– Hūd:22
Who are the losers and who are the greatest of losers?
First, it is important to note the difference between al-khāsirūn and al-akhsarūn. There are those who are the losers (al-khāsirūn) and then there are those worse than the losers, worse in their loss; al-akhsarūn.
Why then is al-khāsirūn used in one place and al-akhsarūn in the other in two seemingly similar āyāt? What is the significance?
To understand this, we look at the context of the two āyāt, one in sūrat an-Naḥl and the other in sūrat Hūd.
In sūrat Hūd, Allāh says,
And who is more unjust than he who invents a lie about Allāh ? Those will be presented before their Lord, and the witnesses will say, “These are the ones who lied against their Lord.” Unquestionably, the curse of Allāh is upon the wrongdoers.
Who averted [people] from the way of Allāh and sought to make it [seem] deviant while they, concerning the Hereafter, were disbelievers.
Those were not causing failure [to Allāh] on earth, nor did they have besides Allāh any protectors. For them the punishment will be multiplied. They were not able to hear, nor did they see.
Those are the ones who will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
Assuredly, it is they, in the Hereafter, who will be the greatest losers.
– Hūd:18-22
We learn that these ‘greatest losers’ were not just misguided – that wasn’t enough for them, but they averted and they prevented others from the path of Allāh. Their evil was in multiples; they disbelieved, they averted others from the path of Allāh, they lied upon Allāh – they prevented people from guidance. And so their loss is in multiples.
And as we know, the punishment of Hellfire varies in intensity. The greater the loss, the greater the punishment. Aʿdhana Allāh wa iyyakum minha.
As for the losers in sūrat an-Naḥl, Allah subḥaneh says about them,
That is because they preferred the worldly life over the Hereafter and that Allāh does not guide the disbelieving people.
Those are the ones over whose hearts and hearing and vision Allāh has sealed, and it is those who are the heedless.
Assuredly, it is they, in the Hereafter, who will be the losers.
– an-Naḥl:107-109
This second set of disbelievers – the khāsirūn – obstructed their means of their own guidance; they did not benefit from their hearing, or their sight, or their hearts, or their thinking. Because of which they were from amongst the wrongdoers, but they were still not as bad as the first set who had not only disbelieved but had done all they could to make others disbelieve. They earned Hellfire, but as I mentioned, Hellfire has darakāt, descending levels that worsen in intensity.
In another place in the Qurʾān, Allāh says,
Say (O Moḥammed), “Shall we inform you of al-akhsarūn in respect to (their) deeds?
(They are) those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work.”
– al-Kahf:103-104
Why is al-akhsarūn used in this āyah instead of al-khāsirūn?
The group of people described in this āyah were the greatest of losers because their efforts were lost in this worldly life, and on top of that they believed they were upon the truth and they believed they were doing well, because of which they promoted their erroneous beliefs – and in effect paved the path for others to follow. And thus, Allāh specifies them as al-akhsarūn. They were misguided and they misguided.
The point of this is not simply to marvel at the linguistic precision in the Qurʾān, but to take heed – have you used your God gifted senses to facilitate your guidance? Do you glamorise a life of sins? Do you enable wrongdoing? Do you hinder others from the path of Allāh? Think.
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