But, in order to move the sense of curiosity of the hearers...

But, in order to move the sense of curiosity of the hearers upon such an important subject, the Qur’an propounds it in the form of a question, and commands the Prophet of Islam (S) as follows: “Say: ‘Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds?” Then, immediately after this question, the Qur’an itself answers it, so that the hearer does not spend a long time wandered, and it implies that the greatest losers are: “Those whose effort is lost in this world’s life, while they think that they are working good deeds.” Certainly the meaning of ‘to lose’ in this text is not only that a person loses some profits, but the real loss is that he loses the main capital, too.

What a capital can be higher and worthier than intellect, talent, God-given-powers, lifetime, youth, and health. These very things, which produce our deeds and our actions, are the fruit of our powers and abilities. When these powers turn into some destructive and vain deeds, it seems all of them have lost and vanished. The true and double loss is where a man loses his own material and spiritual capitals on a wrong and deviated way, and he imagines that he has done a good action.

Such a person has neither obtained any useful result from these efforts, nor has he learnt a lesson from that loss, nor is he secured from the repetition of that event.

However, the Islamic traditions denote that this verse has been rendered into the denier of the leadership of Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) and those who postpone the fulfillment of Hajj from today to tomorrow.[^1] Ali-ibn-Abitalib (as) said the referent of a concept of this verse were the people of the Book, who were legitimate at first, then they brought some innovations in religion while they were working good deeds.

“They are those who disbelieved in the signs of their Lord and meeting Him (in Hereafter) so their deeds became null, and on the Day of Resurrection We assign no weight for them.” 106.