Translation of the meanings Ayah 18 Surah Ibrāhīm - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary (in progress) - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 18

مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمۡۖ أَعۡمَٰلُهُمۡ كَرَمَادٍ ٱشۡتَدَّتۡ بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِي يَوۡمٍ عَاصِفٖۖ لَّا يَقۡدِرُونَ مِمَّا كَسَبُواْ عَلَىٰ شَيۡءٖۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلضَّلَٰلُ ٱلۡبَعِيدُ

(18) ^[2998]The example of those who Denied their Lord: their deeds^[2999] are like ashes which the wind fiercely blows away on a gusty day; they can capture naught of what they earned—that indeed is misguidedness, far-off!^[3000]

[2998] Whatever good deeds they do in this life will not spare them from this ghastly torment (cf. al-Rāzī, al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar). The imagery being drawn here of the utter loss of their deeds is the absolute picture of desperation (cf. al-Rāzī).
[2999] These are their good deeds of which they are hopeful (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Shinqīṭī, al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar).
[3000] Their deeds were not based on solid ground nor were they on a straight path but were rather far astray from it (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Zamakhsharī, Ibn Kathīr); a losing deal indeed (cf. Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 8: 165).