Al-Qasas · Makki · ayah 63 of 88

Al-Qasas 28:63

قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَوْلُ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَغْوَيْنَآ أَغْوَيْنَـٰهُمْ كَمَا غَوَيْنَا ۖ تَبَرَّأْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كَانُوٓا۟ إِيَّانَا يَعْبُدُونَ

“Those upon whom the word[1115] will have come into effect will say, "Our Lord, these are the ones we led to error. We led them to error just as we were in error. We declare our disassociation [from them] to You. They did not used to worship [i.e., obey] us."[1116]”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who led others astray speak first on the Day, admitting the luring, denying the force, and disowning the very people who followed them.

A reflection

The answer nobody had asked them for

A teacher walks into a chemistry lab and finds the window smashed. She looks at the class and asks quietly who did it. Before anyone else can open their mouth, one boy is on his feet. 'Miss, I threw it, but I never made anyone join in. They all wanted to.' Nobody had named him yet. He answered a question nobody had put to him.

The ayah before this one sets up exactly that scene. Allah calls the worshippers and asks them: where are My partners whom you used to claim (28:62)? The question is addressed to those who did the worshipping. Yet the voice that answers belongs to someone else. Qāla alladhīna ḥaqqa ʿalayhimu al-qawl: those against whom the word has come true speak up.

Who are they? The early commentators named two groups. One view says the devils who whispered to people. Another says the chiefs and leaders who called others to error. Both are those who led, not those who followed.

One classical commentator noticed why they hurry. They understood that the question was a rebuke, and that a rebuke calls in the accused. They were certain the followers were about to say: these are the ones who led us astray. So they got in first. It is the oldest reflex of the guilty: shape the story before someone else tells it.

The same commentator made a careful point about the wording. The ayah does not say 'the partners answered'. It says 'those against whom the word has come true'. That phrasing leaves out the righteous who were worshipped without their consent, such as ʿĪsā (as) and the angels. They are not the ones rushing to defend themselves here. Being worshipped is not their crime. Inviting it is.

Notice what this does to the follower's hope. Many people follow a strong voice partly so that someone else will answer for them. On that Day the strong voice answers first, and its answer is about itself.

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.