And among men is he who serves God upon an edge: if good befalls him he is assuaged thereby, but if a means of denial befalls him he makes an about-face; he has lost the World and the Hereafter. That is the clear loss.
| # | word | meaning | root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wamina | And among | |
| 2 | l-nāsi | the mankind | نوس |
| 3 | man | (is he) who | |
| 4 | yaʿbudu | worships | عبد |
| 5 | l-laha | Allah | |
| 6 | ʿalā | on | |
| 7 | ḥarfin | an edge | حرف |
| 8 | fa-in | And if | |
| 9 | aṣābahu | befalls him | صوب |
| 10 | khayrun | good | خير |
| 11 | iṭ'ma-anna | he is content | طمن |
| 12 | bihi | with it | |
| 13 | wa-in | and if | |
| 14 | aṣābathu | befalls him | صوب |
| 15 | fit'natun | a trial | فتن |
| 16 | inqalaba | he turns | قلب |
| 17 | ʿalā | on | |
| 18 | wajhihi | his face | وجه |
| 19 | khasira | He has lost | خسر |
| 20 | l-dun'yā | the world | دنو |
| 21 | wal-ākhirata | and the Hereafter | اخر |
| 22 | dhālika | That | |
| 23 | huwa | [it] | |
| 24 | l-khus'rānu | (is) the loss | خسر |
| 25 | l-mubīnu | clear | بين |
Among the people there is one who worships Allah right on the edge. If good befalls him, he is content with it, but if a trial befalls him, he reverts to his former ways, losing both this world and the Next World. That is indeed sheer loss.
And from the people there is he who serves God nervously. So if good comes to him, he is content with it; and if an ordeal comes to him, he makes an about-face. He has lost this world and the Hereafter. Such is the clear loss.
And among people there is the one who serves Allah conditionally. If things go his way, he is content. But if some adversity touches him he turns on his face. (4:143). Thus he loses both, in this life and the life to come. That is the sheer loss.
And among men is he who serves God upon an edge: if good befalls him he is assuaged thereby, but if a means of denial befalls him he makes an about-face; he has lost the World and the Hereafter. That is the clear loss.
Andfrom the people there is he who serves God nervously. So if good comes to him, he is content with it; and if an ordeal comes to him, he makes an about-face. He has lost this world and the Hereafter. Such is the clear loss.
Among the people there is he who serves God hesitantly. So if good comes to him, he is content with it; and if an ordeal comes to him, he makes an about-face. He has lost this world and the Hereafter. Such is the clear loss.
Among the people there is the one who worships GOD conditionally. If things go his way, he is content. But if some adversity befalls him, he makes an about-face. Thus, he loses both this life and the Hereafter. Such is the real loss.
There are some men who worship God only from the margin. If there is some profit they are content; but if calamity befalls them they turn about, thus losing both this world and the next. This is indeed a palpable loss.
And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face . He has lost world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.
And there is, too, among men many a one who worships God on the border-line : thus, if good befalls him, he is satisfied with Him; but if a trial assails him, he turns away utterly, losing this world and the life to come: this, indeed, is a loss beyond compare!
And among mankind is he who worshippeth Allah upon a narrow marge so that if good befalleth him he is content therewith, but if a trial befalleth him, he falleth away utterly. He loseth both the world and the Hereafter. That is the sheer loss.
And among people is he who worships Allah on the borderline; if any good befalls him,* he is satisfied; but if a trial afflicts him, he utterly turns away.* He will incur the loss of this world and the Hereafter. That indeed is a clear loss.*
And among people are some who serve Allah conditionally, standing on the brink or border, as it were, between faith without and infidelity within. If all goes well with any of them and he makes worldly gains he is gratified and he advances without and to his heart's content. And should he be tested for true belief and inclination and he is consequently befallen with a misfortune or wedded to a calamity he retracts and retreats within, he tumbles down on his face and turns renegade wherefore he loses both worlds, here and Hereafter, And this is indeed the utmost loss.
Some people worship God conditionally! If things go their way, they are satisfied with their belief. If they are put through the test of hardship, they will loose their faith. Such people have lost both this world and the Hereafter; what losers they are.
And among mankind is he who worships Allâh as it were, upon the edge (i.e. in doubt): if good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face (i.e. reverts to disbelief after embracing Islâm). He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss.
There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see!
And there are some who worship Allah on the verge ˹of faith˺: if they are blessed with something good, they are content with it; but if they are afflicted with a trial, they relapse ˹into disbelief˺, losing this world and the Hereafter. That is ˹truly˺ the clearest loss.
And among men there is one who worships Allah (standing) on the verge: so if some good thing happens to him, he is satisfied with it, and if a trial befalls him, he turns his face back. He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the manifest loss.
There are also some who serve God with unsteady faith: if something good comes their way, they are satisfied, but if they are tested, they revert to their old ways, losing both this world and the next- that is the clearest loss.
And among men there is such a one as serves God upon the very edge -- if good befalls him he is at rest in it, but if a trial befalls him he turns completely over; he loses this world and the world to come; that is indeed the manifest loss.
And amongst men is one who serves God (wavering) on a brink; and if there befall him good, he is comforted; but if there befall him a trial, he turns round again, and loses this world and the next - that is an obvious loss.
This is for what your two hands have sent before you, and in this Allah is not an oppressor unto His servants.
And among mankind is he who worships Allah upon the (very) edge; (Literally: as a child) so in case a charitable gain alights upon (i. e., dies) him he is composed therewith, and in case a temptation afflicts him he turns over his face; he loses the present (life) and the Hereafter; that evidently is the greatest loss.
There are some men who serve God in a wavering manner, standing, as it were, on the verge of the true religion. If good befall one of them, he resteth satisfied therein; but if any tribulation befall him, he turneth himself round, with the loss both of this world, and of the life to come. This is manifest perdition.
Among men, there is (one) who worship Allah, as if like being on the edge (of Faith): If (something) nice comes to him, he is well content with it: But if a trial comes near him, he turns on his face (in sorrow and disbelief): He loses both this world and the Hereafter: That is loss for all to see!
And among people there is such a one who worships Allâh (as it were) on the very verge (in a wavering state of mind). If any good befalls him he is satisfied with it, but if there befalls a trial he returns to his (former) ways. He has lost both this world as well as the next. That indeed is the obvious loss.
And among the people are those who worship Allah on the fringe: if good fortune befalls him, he is content with it; but if an ordeal visits him he makes a turnabout, to become a loser in the world and the Hereafter. That is the manifest loss.