3ذٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ الَّذينَ كَفَرُوا اتَّبَعُوا الباطِلَ وَأَنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اتَّبَعُوا الحَقَّ مِن رَبِّهِم ۚ كَذٰلِكَ يَضرِبُ اللَّهُ لِلنّاسِ أَمثالَهُمMuhammad AsadThis, because they who are bent on denying the truth pursue falsehood, whereas they who have attained to faith pursue [but] the truth [that flows] from their Sustainer. In this way does God set forth unto man the parables of their true state.1Lit their parables" (amthdlahum). This, according to some of the most outstanding commentators, relates to the parabolic expressions in the above three verses: the "going to waste" - in consequence of their deliberate "pursuance of falsehood" - of the good deeds of those who deny the truth, as well as the "effacement of the bad deeds" of the true believers in consequence of their "pursuance of the truth" (Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi). In a broader perspective, this interpretation takes into account the parabolic nature not only of the above sentence but also of many other Qur'anic statements relating to men's spiritual conditions and destinies in this world as well as in the life to come.