Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:56
Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
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 explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ (28:56) ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.") (56)
The Exalted, whose mention is high, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: إِنَّكَ ("Indeed, you") — O Muḥammad — لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("do not guide whom you love") — whose guidance you desire — وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ ("but Allah guides whom He wills") — among His creatures, to guide him, by granting him success in believing in Him and in His Messenger. And if one were to say that the meaning is: indeed, you do not guide whom you love on account of his kinship with you, but Allah guides whom He wills — that would be a valid interpretation. وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ("and He knows best those who are rightly guided") — the Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: and Allah knows best who, according to His foreknowledge, is destined to be guided to the right path; that is the one whom Allah guides, and whom He makes steadfast and grants success.
And it has been mentioned that this verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on account of the refusal of his uncle Abū Ṭālib to respond to him, when he called him to faith in Allah, to that which he called him to therein.
* Mention of the narration concerning that:
Abū Kurayb and al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣudāʾī related to us, both of them saying: al-Walīd ibn al-Qāsim related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Kaysān, on the authority of Abū Ḥāzim, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his uncle at his death: "Say: there is no god but Allah, and I will bear witness for you thereby on the Day of Resurrection." He said: were it not that the Quraysh would taunt me for it, I would gladden your eye. Then Allah revealed: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love") ... the verse.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Kaysān, who said: Abū Ḥāzim al-Ashjaʿī related to me, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his uncle: "Say: there is no god but Allah" — and then he mentioned something similar.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Kaysān, who heard Abū Ḥāzim al-Ashjaʿī relating on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: when the death of Abū Ṭālib drew near, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to him and said: "O uncle, say: there is no god but Allah" — and he mentioned something similar, except that he said: were it not that the Quraysh would taunt me by saying: nothing drove him to it but the agony of death.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Kaysān, on the authority of Abū Ḥāzim, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: the Prophet ﷺ said — and he mentioned something similar to the narration of Abū Kurayb al-Ṣudāʾī.
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Wahb related to us, he said: my uncle ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb related to me, he said: Yūnus related to me, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab related to me, on the authority of his father, who said: when the death of Abū Ṭālib drew near, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to him and found with him Abū Jahl ibn Hishām and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Umayya ibn al-Mughīra. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O uncle, say: there is no god but Allah — a single word by which I will bear witness for you before Allah." Then Abū Jahl and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Umayya said: O Abū Ṭālib, will you turn away from the religion of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept presenting it to him and repeating that saying to him, until the last thing that Abū Ṭālib said to them was: he is upon the religion of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, and he refused to say: there is no god but Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Well, by Allah, I will ask forgiveness for you so long as I am not forbidden to do so concerning you." Thereupon Allah revealed: مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ كَانُوا أُولِي قُرْبَى ("It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even though they be kinsmen.") And Allah revealed concerning Abū Ṭālib, saying to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides...") ... the verse.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of his father, in like manner.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd ibn Rāfiʿ, who said: I said to Ibn ʿUmar: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love") — was this revealed concerning Abū Ṭālib? He said: yes.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love") he said: it is the saying of Muḥammad ﷺ to Abū Ṭālib: "Say: the word of sincere devotion (kalimat al-ikhlāṣ), and I will plead for you thereby on the Day of Resurrection." Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr said in his narration: he said: O son of my brother, the religion of the forefathers, or the custom of the forefathers. And al-Ḥārith said in his narration: he said: O son of my brother, the religion of the forefathers.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love") he said: Muḥammad ﷺ said to Abū Ṭālib: "Bear witness with the word of sincere devotion (kalimat al-ikhlāṣ), and I will plead for you thereby on the Day of Resurrection." He said: O son of my brother, the religion of the forefathers. Then Allah revealed: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love"). He said: this verse was revealed concerning Abū Ṭālib.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ ("Indeed, you do not guide whom you love"). It has been mentioned to us that it was revealed concerning Abū Ṭālib. At his death it was sought of him that he should say: there is no god but Allah, so that the intercession (shafāʿa) might thereby be permitted for him, but he refused that.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿĀmir: when the death of Abū Ṭālib drew near, the Prophet ﷺ said to him: "O uncle, say: there is no god but Allah, and I will bear witness for you thereby on the Day of Resurrection." He said to him: O son of my brother, were it not that it would be a disgrace for you, I would not mind doing it — and he said this several times. When he died, that weighed heavily upon the Prophet ﷺ, and they said: the kinship of Abū Ṭālib avails you nothing. He said: "Nay, indeed; by Him in whose hand is my soul, truly he is at this moment in a shallow pool of the Fire; upon him are two sandals of fire, by which his skull is brought to a boil. And among the people of the Fire there is no man with a lighter punishment than he. And he is the one concerning whom Allah revealed: إِنَّكَ لا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ('Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.')"
And His saying: وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ("and He knows best those who are rightly guided") means: and He knows best to whom He has allotted guidance.
As for that which Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ("and He knows best those who are rightly guided") he said: to whom He has allotted guidance and misguidance.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, in like manner.
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Footnotes:
(2) What appears in al-Durr on the authority of Qatāda reads: it was sought of him at his death that he should say... and so forth.
