( وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ ) (And when regret overcame them): They were extremely regretful so much that their teeth would bite their hands.

( وَرَأَوْا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّوا ) (and they saw that they had gone astray): They realized that they deviated from the right path and what they have done was falsehood.

( قَالُوا لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا ) (they said, “If our Lord does not have mercy upon us and forgive us): To forgive differs from having mercy on; forgiveness indicates covering and erasing the sin, while having mercy denotes complete generosity, it encompasses granting the person with Paradise, repentance, and Divine satisfaction.

( لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ) (we will surely be among the losers): They admitted that they went astray.