Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:16
By which Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.
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 Him, mighty is His mention: يَهْدِي بِهِ اللَّهُ مَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَهُ سُبُلَ السَّلامِ ("Thereby Allah guides whoever follows His good pleasure to the ways of peace.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, mighty is His mention, means: He guides by means of this clear Book that has come from Allah, exalted is His majesty. And by His saying "thereby Allah guides" He means: Allah thereby brings to the right way and sets straight. And the "hāʾ" (the suffix "it") in His saying "thereby" refers back to "the Book." And "whoever follows His good pleasure," that is to say: whoever follows the good pleasure of Allah.
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There was disagreement concerning the meaning of "the good pleasure" (al-riḍā) of Allah, exalted and mighty is He.
Some said: His good pleasure in something means accepting it, praising it, and lauding it. They said: He is the One who accepts faith, who declares it pure, who praises the believer for his faith, and who describes faith as light, guidance, and discernment (between truth and falsehood).
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Others said: The meaning of "the good pleasure" of Allah, exalted and mighty is He, is an intelligible meaning; it is the opposite of wrath, and it is one of His attributes according to what is understood from the meanings of "good pleasure" being the opposite of wrath. That is not praise, for praise and lauding are an utterance, and one only praises and lauds that with which one is already pleased. They said: Good pleasure is thus a meaning (in itself), while "lauding" and "praise" are a meaning that does not coincide with it.
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And by His saying "the ways of peace" (subul al-salām) He means: the paths of peace. And "peace" (al-salām), that is Allah, mighty is His mention.
11612 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "whoever follows His good pleasure to the ways of peace," that is the way of Allah which He has prescribed for His servants, to which He has called them, and with which He has sent His messengers; and that is Islam, on the basis of which no deed is accepted from anyone except through it — neither Judaism, nor Christianity, nor Magianism (Zoroastrianism).
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The explanation of the saying of Him, mighty is His mention: وَيُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِهِ ("And He brings them out of the darknesses into the light, by His permission.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, mighty is His mention, says: Allah guides by this clear Book whoever follows the good pleasure of Allah to the ways of peace and the prescriptions of His religion. And "He brings them out," that is to say: He brings out whoever follows His good pleasure. And the "hāʾ and the mīm" (the suffix "them") in "He brings them out" refers to those already mentioned. "Out of the darknesses into the light," that means: out of the darknesses of unbelief (kufr) and ascribing partners to Allah (shirk), into the light of Islam and its radiance. "By His permission," that means: by the permission of Allah, exalted and mighty is He. And "His permission" in this place is: that He makes faith dear to them by lifting the seal of unbelief from their heart and removing from it the closure of shirk, and granting them the capacity to behold the ways of peace.
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The explanation of the saying of Him, mighty is His mention: وَيَهْدِيهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (16) ("And He guides them to a straight path.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, mighty is His mention, means by His saying "and He guides them": and He brings them to the right way and sets them straight. "To a straight path," that is to say: to a straight path, and that is the upright religion of Allah in which there is no crookedness.
