An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 26 of 176

An-Nisa 4:26

يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

“Allāh wants to make clear to you [the lawful from the unlawful] and guide you to the [good] practices of those before you and to accept your repentance. And Allāh is Knowing and Wise.”

Saheeh International

Essence

After the hardest laws of the surah, Allah tells you what He wants: clarity, a road others have walked, and His turning towards you.

A reflection

What Allah wants for you

After three ayat of dense law, the surah does something unexpected. It tells you what Allah wants. Yurīdu Allāhu li-yubayyina lakum: Allah wants to make things clear to you.

The verb comes from a root the lexicons tie to seeking. The rāʾid was the scout sent ahead to find pasture and water. From that seeking came irāda, wanting and intending. One classical commentator notes that the small li- before 'make clear' adds emphasis to the wanting itself.

Pause on how strange this is. The One who owns the heavens and the earth owes no one an explanation. Kings hand down decrees; they do not explain their motives to farmers. Yet here, straight after the laws of marriage, the Lawgiver discloses His intention. Three things: to make clear, to guide you along the ways of those before you, and to turn towards you.

The ego hears commands and suspects control. Rules must be about someone else's power, it whispers, and my loss. The ayah answers that suspicion directly. The intention behind the law is your clarity, your guidance and your return. Pride assumes it is being managed. Humility discovers it is being cared for.

The ayah closes with wallāhu ʿalīmun ḥakīm. One classical commentator explains the pair. He knows what He has legislated, what the guided before you walked, and what benefits and harms His servants. He keeps wisdom in all He does.

Does He need us to know His intentions, or to praise His wisdom? He is the Free of need (35:15). Our understanding adds nothing to Him. But a servant who knows his Lord wants good for him obeys differently. He obeys as one who is loved, not as one who is suspected.

Next time a command in the Quran feels heavy, read on. Very often, as here, the next lines tell you what He wants for you.

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.