Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:9
And upon Allah is the direction of the [right] way, and among the various paths are those deviating. And if He willed, He could have guided you all.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His mention, says: And it is incumbent upon Allah, O people, to make clear to you the way of truth. Whoever follows right guidance does so to his own benefit; and whoever goes astray strays only to his own detriment. Al-sabīl is the way; and al-qaṣd (being straight) refers to the straight way without bends, as the versifier said:
"And he turned away from the way that ran straight."
As for His words وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ (And some of them deviate): Allah, exalted is His mention, means: and among the ways there is one that deviates from straightness and is crooked. The straight way is Islam (al-sabīl al-qāṣid); the deviating way is Judaism, Christianity, and all the other religions of unbelief (kufr) — all of them deviate from the straight way, except the ḥanafī Muslim community. It was also said: وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ because al-sabīl can be either feminine or masculine; here it is used as feminine. Some also said: مِنْهَا is said because al-sabīl, although singular in expression, has a plural meaning.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
Mention of those who said that:
Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ informed us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His words وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "The clarification."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His words وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "It is incumbent upon Allah to give the clarification — to make clear the guidance and the error."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa informed us, saying: Shibl related to us; and al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all of them on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "The way of truth is incumbent upon Allah."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — to the same effect.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning His words وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "It is incumbent upon Allah to give the clarification — its permitted and its forbidden, its obedience and its disobedience."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said — concerning His words وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "Al-sabīl is the way of guidance."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk — concerning وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ — he said: "The illuminating of it."
It was related to me via al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His words وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ: "It is incumbent upon Allah to give the clarification — to make clear the guidance from the error, and to make clear the way that branches off from His ways; and among those ways there is one that deviates."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ: "That is to say: among the ways, the ways of Satan (al-Shayṭān)." And in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd: "وَمِنْكُمْ جَائِرٌ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ" (And among you is one who deviates; but had Allah willed, He would have guided you all).
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ — he said: "In the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: 'وَمِنْكُمْ جَائِرٌ'."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His words وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ — he means: "The ways that branch off."
ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His words وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ — he said: "The divergent desires."
It was related to me via al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His words وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ: he means the ways that branch off from His way.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj — concerning وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ: "The ways that branch off from His way."
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said — concerning His words وَمِنْهَا جَائِرٌ — he said: "Among the ways there is one that deviates from the truth." He said: "Allah said: وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ (And do not follow the other ways, lest they scatter you from His way)."
As for His words وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (And had He willed, He would have guided you all): that is to say: and had Allah willed, He would have favored you all, O people, through His tawfīq (divine enabling grace), so that you would receive guidance and follow the straight way without deviating from it and being scattered over ways that deviate from the truth.
As Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said — concerning His words وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ — he said: "Had He willed, He would have guided you all to the straight way, which is the truth." And he recited: وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ لَآمَنَ مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا (And had your Lord willed, all those on earth would have believed) — the entire verse — and he recited: وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا (And had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance) — the entire verse.
