The State of Those Who are decreed to be among the Doomed

Allah says: `In the case of those who are decreed to be among the doomed, when it comes to the matter of being guided, We have made them like a person who has a chain around his neck and whose hands are tied together beneath his chin so that his head is lifted up.' As Allah says:

فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ

In verse 12, by saying: وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَ‌هُمْ (and We are recording whatever (deeds) they send ahead and whatever effects they leave behind.), the doing of deeds has been equated with 'sending ahead' to point out that good or bad deeds done in the mortal world have not gone the way of all flesh right here. Instead of that, these were their wherewithal, their baggage that has gone ahead of them to their destination in the next world that they have to confront. Now, if these deeds were good, they will make them look handsome in Paradise, and if they were bad, the embers of Hell will be their fate. The real purpose of 'recording' these deeds is to keep them preserved. Writing too is a means of doing that, so that there remains no probability of error, forgetfulness, increase or decrease.

The effects of deeds are also recorded like the deeds themselves