Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:81
And you cannot guide the blind away from their error. You will only make hear those who believe in Our verses so they are Muslims [submitting to Allah].
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.
The Qurʾān reciters differed over the reading of this verse. The general reciters of Medina and Basra, and some of Kufa, read: وَمَا أَنْتَ بِهَادِ with a yāʾ and an alif, joining it in the genitive with "the blind," in the meaning of: you, O Muḥammad, are not the one who guides him who is blind to the truth عَنْ ضَلالَتِهِمْ . The reading of the general reciters of Kufa is: "وَمَا أنْتَ تَهْدِي العُمْيَ" with a tāʾ and an accusative for "the blind," in the meaning of: you do not guide them عَنْ ضَلالَتِهِمْ , but Allah guides them if He wills.
In my view, these are two readings that approach one another in meaning and that are well known in the readings of the reciters of the great cities. Whichever reading the reciter chooses, he is correct. The explanation of the words is as I have described: وَمَا أَنْتَ — O Muḥammad — بِهادِي the one whom Allah has made blind to right guidance, by placing a veil over his power of sight, so that he cannot discern the path of the straight way — away from his error toward the way of right guidance. His words: إِنْ تُسْمِعُ إِلا مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا — that is to say: you are only able to make the truth understood and remembered by him who listens, among those who believe in Our signs — that is to say: in His proofs, His arguments, and the verses of His revelation — فَهُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ — for it is there, among those who listen to what you say, ponder it, reflect upon it, and act according to it — they are the ones who truly hear.
Mention of those who said what we have said concerning His words, the Exalted: وَقَعَ [the author's text for the explanation of verse 82 has dropped out; this is evident from the fact that he adduces the words of the exegetes concerning it].
