An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 88 of 176

An-Nisa 4:88

۞ فَمَا لَكُمْ فِى ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ فِئَتَيْنِ وَٱللَّهُ أَرْكَسَهُم بِمَا كَسَبُوٓا۟ ۚ أَتُرِيدُونَ أَن تَهْدُوا۟ مَنْ أَضَلَّ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُۥ سَبِيلًا

“What is [the matter] with you [that you are] two groups concerning the hypocrites,[206] while Allāh has made them fall back [into error and disbelief] for what they earned.[207] Do you wish to guide those whom Allāh has sent astray? And he whom Allāh sends astray - never will you find for him a way [of guidance].[208]”

Saheeh International

Essence

Do not split into camps over people whose own deeds have turned them back; guidance is Allah's to give, not yours to declare.

A reflection

You cannot open a heart

The ayah's sharpest line is a question. Do you want to guide someone Allah has left astray? Then a plain statement: whoever Allah leaves astray, you will never find a way for him.

Guidance belongs to Allah. The ayah says so without softening, and it is meant to shrink something in us.

Two kinds of ego hear this line. The first is the rescuer's. Picture a man who has sent his former best friend a link every Ramadan for ten years. A talk, an article, a reminder. Each time he is sure this one will bring him back. When nothing changes he is hurt, as if the failure were his. Somewhere along the way he began to believe guidance was his to give.

The second is the judge's. Some of the believers insisted these men were believers, because they had spoken the words of Islam. One concise commentary explains the question: do you want to count among the guided those whom Allah has left astray? Declaring someone guided does not make them guided. Our labels do not move hearts.

Both are versions of the same pride. Each puts a human being where only Allah stands. The ayah returns us to our proper size. We can speak, invite, pray and be honest about what we see. We cannot open a heart.

Is this God asserting control for His own glory? He is free of all need (35:15). Nothing about guiding or leaving astray adds to Him. And a line earlier the ayah names the cause: by what they earned. His leaving them was no whim.

For the rescuer, this is relief disguised as rebuke. Keep inviting where it is wise, and keep praying. But stop carrying a weight that was never yours. The heart you love is in Hands far more capable than yours.

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.