41:48

وَضَلَّ عَنۡهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يَدۡعُونَ مِن قَبۡلُۖ وَظَنُّواْ مَا لَهُم مِّن مَّحِيصٖ

Wadalla AAanhum ma kanoo yadAAoona min qablu wathannoo ma lahum min maheesin

And lost from them will be those they were invoking before, and they will be certain that they have no place of escape.

Word by word
  1. وَضَلَّAnd lost
  2. عَنۡهُمfrom them
  3. مَّاwhat
  4. كَانُواْthey were
  5. يَدۡعُونَinvoking
  6. مِنbefore
  7. قَبۡلُۖbefore
  8. وَظَنُّواْand they (will) be certain
  9. مَا(that) not
  10. لَهُمfor them
  11. مِّنany
  12. مَّحِيصٖplace of escape
Fussilat · 41:48Makkah

What they called on before simply disappears.

False supports leave when you need them


On that Day
what they invokedgone, no benefit
and they realize
no escape
What you lean on
things that vanish
the One who stays

Ibn Kathir says those they used to invoke will go away and be of no benefit to them. The idolators of Makkah trusted their idols to intercede. On the Day, there would be no refuge from what they had done.

You lean on a habit to cope: a show, a snack, a scroll. It is there every night. Then the real crisis comes and it has nothing to offer. The verse asks what will still be there when everything else leaves.

The things I rely on will be there when I really need them.

Only Allah remains when every other support disappears. He is the one to lean on now.

Try this

Next time you reach for a comfort habit today, make a short dua first.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 41:46)

Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for himself; and whosoever does evil, it is against himself. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) servants (46)To Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour. No fruit comes out of its sheath, nor does a female conceive nor brings forth (young), except by His knowledge. And on the Day when He will call unto them (saying): "Where are My (so-called) partners?" They will say: "We inform You that none of us bears witness to it! (47)And those whom they used to invoke before (in this world) shall disappear from them, and they will perceive that they have no place of refuge (48)

Everyone will be requited according to His Deeds

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ 

(Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for himself;) means, the benefit of which will come to him.

وَمَنْ أَسَاءَ فَعَلَيْهَا ۗ 

(and whosoever does evil, it is against himself.) means, the consequences of that will come back on him.

وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِلْعَبِيدِ

(And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) servants) means, He only punishes people for their sins, and He does not punish anyone except after establishing proof against him and sending a Messenger to him.

Knowledge of the Hour is with Allah Alone

Then Allah says:

إِلَيْهِ يُرَدُّ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ ۚ

(To Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour.) meaning, no one knows about that apart from Him. Muhammad ﷺ, the leader of mankind, said to Jibril, who is one of the leading angels, when he asked him about the Hour:

مَا الْمَسْؤُولُ عَنْهَا بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِلِ

(The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking.)" And Allah says:

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ مُنْتَهَاهَا 

(To your Lord belongs the term thereof.)(79:44)

لَا يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَا إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ 

(None can reveal its time but He)(7:187).

وَمَا تَخْرُجُ مِنْ ثَمَرَاتٍ مِنْ أَكْمَامِهَا وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِ ۚ 

(No fruit comes out of its sheath, nor does a female conceive nor brings forth (young), except by His knowledge.) means, all of that is known to Him, and nothing is hidden from your Lord the weight of a speck of dust on the earth or in the heaven. Allah says:

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا

(not a leaf falls, but He knows it)(6:59).

اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنْثَىٰ وَمَا تَغِيضُ الْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ ۖ وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ

(Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall short or exceed. Everything with Him is in (due) proportion)(13:8).

 وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِنْ مُعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنْقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

(And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.)(35:11)

وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ أَيْنَ شُرَكَائِي

(And on the Day when He will call unto them (saying): "Where are My (so-called) partners?") means, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will call out to the idolators before all of creation and say, "Where are My partners whom you worshipped besides Me?"

قَالُوا آذَنَّاكَ

(They will say: "We inform You...") means, 'we tell You,'

مَا مِنَّا مِنْ شَهِيدٍ 

(that none of us bears witness to it.) means, 'not one of us will bear witness today that You have any partner.'

وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۖ 

(And those whom they used to invoke before (in this world) shall disappear from them,) means, they will go away, and will be of no benefit to them.

وَظَنُّوا مَا لَهُمْ مِنْ مَحِيصٍ

(and they will perceive that they have no place of refuge) means, they will have no way of escaping from the punishment of Allah. This is like the Ayah:

وَرَأَى الْمُجْرِمُونَ النَّارَ فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ مُوَاقِعُوهَا وَلَمْ يَجِدُوا عَنْهَا مَصْرِفًا

(And the criminals shall see the Fire and apprehend that they have to fall therein. And they will find no way of escape from there.)(18:53)