Taha · Makki · ayah 16 of 135

Taha 20:16

فَلَا يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْهَا مَن لَّا يُؤْمِنُ بِهَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ فَتَرْدَىٰ

“So do not let one avert you from it[834] who does not believe in it and follows his desire, for you [then] would perish.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even a newly chosen prophet is warned: let no one who denies the Hour and follows his desire turn you aside, or you will fall.

A reflection

Turned back from the uphill road

A group of friends sets out to climb a ridge. Halfway up, the path steepens. One of them keeps pointing out the easy track along the valley floor. It's prettier down there, he says. We'll still have a good day. One by one, the others follow him down. Nobody reaches the top.

The verb in this ayah is yaṣuddannaka: let no one turn you aside. The lexicons give the root a strongly physical picture. Ṣadd is a lean to one side, a swerving. They quote a line where men turn others back the way water is turned from a mountain pass. The streams cannot climb, so they go elsewhere. And ṣadda al-sabīl was said when a hard climb faced a traveller, and he left it for another road.

That is the danger the ayah names. Not usually a dramatic attack on faith. A gentle turning aside. Someone who suggests the easier valley road. Who makes the climb look unnecessary. Who never argues you out of the Hour, but makes it seem less urgent, until you stop thinking about it.

One commentator says the 'it' here most likely means the Hour: do not let anyone turn you from remembering it and keeping watch for it. Others suggest it means the prayer, or the oneness of Allah, or all the commands just given.

Whichever it is, the uphill road is the one just described: worship, prayer, readiness for the Hour. And there will always be people on the valley track, calling up that it is lovely down there.

Notice who in your life makes your faith feel like an unnecessary climb. You need not cut them off. But do not follow them down. Keep your eyes on the ridge.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.