Tafseer of Crouching · Al-Jaathiya · 45:23
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded?
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 words of the Exalted: أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ (45:23) (Have you then seen him who has taken his desire as his god, and whom Allah has led astray with knowledge, and upon whose hearing and heart He has set a seal, and over whose sight He has placed a covering? Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you then not take heed?).
The exegetes differed concerning the explanation of His words ( أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ ). Some of them said: the meaning of it is: have you then seen him who has taken his religion according to his desire, so that he desires nothing without plunging into it, because he does not believe in Allah, does not forbid what He has forbidden, and does not permit what He has permitted; rather his religion is only that which his soul desires, according to which he acts.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words ( أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ ), he said: that is the unbeliever (kāfir) who has taken his religion without guidance from Allah and without proof.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words ( أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ ), he said: he desires nothing without plunging into it; he does not fear Allah.
And others said: rather the meaning of it is: have you then seen him who has taken as his object of worship that whose worship his soul desired, whatever it was.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, he said: the Quraysh used to worship al-ʿUzzā, which was a white stone, for a time; and when they found something more beautiful than it, they cast away the first and worshipped the other. Then Allah sent down ( أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ ).
And the more correct of the two explanations therein is the statement of him who said: the meaning of it is: have you then, O Muḥammad, seen him who has taken his desire as his object of worship, so that he worships what he desires, instead of the true God to whom belongs divinity over all things — for that is the most obvious of its meanings, not another.
And His words ( وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ ): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and He forsook him, away from the main road and the path of right guidance, by virtue of His prior knowledge, with knowledge from Him that he would not be guided, even if every sign came to him.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, ( وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ ), he says: Allah led him astray by virtue of His prior knowledge.
And His words ( وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ ): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and He has set a seal upon his hearing, so that it does not hear the admonitions of Allah and the verses of His Book, so as to take a lesson from them, ponder over them, and reflect upon them, so that it would understand what is in them of light, clarification, and guidance.
And His words ( وَقَلْبِهِ ) (and his heart): he says: and He has likewise set a seal upon his heart, so that it understands nothing thereby and contains no truth thereby.
And His words ( وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً ): he says: and He has placed a covering over his sight, so that it does not see thereby the proofs of Allah, so as to conclude from them His oneness and thereby to know that there is no god but He.
And the reciters of the Qurʾān differed in the reading of His words ( وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً ). The generality of the reciters of Medina, Basra, and some of the reciters of Kufa read it ( غِشَاوَةً ) with a kasra on the ghīn and with the retention of the alif in it, on the grounds that it is a noun. And the generality of the reciters of Kufa read it ( غَشْوَةً ), with the meaning that He covered it in one stroke and at one time, with a fatḥa on the ghīn and without alif. And both are, in my judgment, correct readings; with whichever of the two the reciter reads, he has hit upon what is correct.
And His words ( فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِ ): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: who then will enable him to hit upon the truth and to see the main road of right guidance after Allah's leading him astray? ( أَفَلا تَذَكَّرُونَ ) (Will you then not take heed), O people, so that you would know that whoever Allah treats as we have described will never be guided, and will never find for himself a guiding protector.
