People typically regard the loss of wealth, honor, or material things as “loss.” When a business suffers a setback or a worldly opportunity slips away, we consider ourselves at a loss. But by the standard of the holy Quran, this is not true loss. In the Quran’s judgment, the truly lost are those who have destroyed their eternal life in the hereafter, earned God’s displeasure, and chosen hellfire over paradise as their final destination. In the holy Quran, God clearly identifies certain categories of people who are utterly lost in both this world and the next. Here are six such categories, according to the Quran.
Six kinds of people the Quran describes as lost
1. Those who break their covenant with God
Those who, after pledging faith to God, break that pledge and sever family ties, sowing discord in society, are called “lost” in the Quran. God says:
الَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ
“Those who break the covenant of God after ratifying it, and sever that which God has commanded to be joined, and spread corruption on earth — it is they who are the losers.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 27)
2. Those who commit shirk, or associate partners with God
Shirk is humanity’s greatest and most unforgivable sin. Whoever associates another with God faces the gravest loss. God says:
لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“(O Prophet!) If you associate partners with God, your deeds will surely become worthless, and you will certainly be among the losers.” (Surah Az-Zumar, verse 65)
3. Those who deny God’s revelations
Those who, out of arrogance, deny God’s clear signs and revelations will find their scale of good deeds light in the hereafter — and they will be the true losers. God says:
وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُم بِمَا كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَظْلِمُونَ
“And those whose scales are light — it is they who have lost their souls, because they used to wrong Our signs.” (Surah Al-A’raf, verse 9)
4. Those who deny the hereafter and meeting God
Those who believe that this worldly life is all there is, and that there is no reckoning after death, are explicitly declared lost by the Quran. God says:
قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِلِقَاءِ اللَّهِ
“Those who denied the meeting with God have certainly lost.” (Surah Al-An’am, verse 31)
5. Those who lead their families toward hellfire
Whoever neither practices their faith themselves nor keeps their family and children on the right path of Islam will face a terrible loss on the Day of Judgment. God says:
قُلْ إِنَّ الْخَاسِرِينَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ أَلَا ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ
“Say: ‘Indeed, the losers are those who lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, that is the manifest loss.'” (Surah Az-Zumar, verse 15)
6. Those deprived of faith, righteous deeds, and truth
Swearing by time itself, God declares that all of humanity is immersed in loss, except for those fortunate few who possess four qualities. God says:
وَالْعَصْرِ * إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ
“By time! Indeed, mankind is in loss. Except for those who believe, do righteous deeds, and enjoin upon one another truth, and enjoin upon one another patience.” (Surah Al-Asr, verses 1-3)
These verses of the Quran make clear that true success lies not in bank balances or worldly status. The truly lost are those who have lost their faith, disobeyed their Lord, and forgotten the hereafter. Steadfast faith in God, righteous deeds, calling others to truth, and patience in adversity are the true keys to lasting success. May God protect us all from falling into these six categories and grant us true success in this world and the next. Ameen.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report