Surah An-Noor (24) — Ayah 21

(Ayah 21) ➊ For the explanation of {يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَتَّبِعُوْا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيْطٰنِ… : ’’ خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيْطٰنِ ‘‘}, see Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (168), and for the details of {’’ بِالْفَحْشَآءِ وَ الْمُنْكَرِ ‘‘}, see Surah An-Nahl, Ayah (90). First, it is said: «{ لَا تَتَّبِعُوْا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيْطٰنِ }», then, by bringing the pronoun for {’’ الشَّيْطٰنِ ‘‘}, instead of saying {’’وَ مَنْ يَّتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِهِ‘‘}, the name is mentioned again: « وَ مَنْ يَّتَّبِعْ خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيْطٰنِ ». The purpose is to draw attention so that a person thinks about whom he is following.
➋ { وَ لَوْ لَا فَضْلُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَ رَحْمَتُهٗ …:} From this verse, it is understood that no person can keep himself pure in any way, nor can he purify himself. If a human is left to his own state, no one would remain pure, because Satan and his army are determined to mislead him and continue to present “fahsha” and “munkar” in an attractive way before him. The evil-commanding soul inclines towards them and commands them. Man is created weak; it is only Allah’s grace and His mercy by which a person remains pure from sins, or after sinning, becomes pure through repentance. For verses of this meaning, see Surah An-Nisa (16, 17) and Surah An-Najm (32).
➌ At this point, the purpose of these words seems to be that those who were saved from being involved in the aforementioned incident of Ifk, it was only Allah’s grace and favor upon them, otherwise they too would have been swept away in the same current in which some Muslims were swept away. Therefore, to be safe from the deception and trickery of Satan, firstly, always seek help from Allah and turn to Him, and secondly, those who, due to the weakness of their souls, became victims of Satan’s deception, do not make them a greater target of blame, but rather correct them in a well-wishing manner.
➍ { وَّ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُزَكِّيْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَ اللّٰهُ سَمِيْعٌ عَلِيْمٌ :} That is, Allah purifies whom He wills, but His will is not blind; rather, He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Because of this knowledge, He purifies those whom He knows to be worthy of purification, as He said: «{ اِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِيْ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ وَ لٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَهْدِيْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَ هُوَ اَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِيْنَ }» [ القصص : ۵۶ ] “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.”

21-1. At this point, after the prohibition of following Satan, the statement that if it were not for Allah’s grace and His mercy, none of you would have been purified, indicates that those who were saved from being involved in the aforementioned incident of Ifk, it was solely due to Allah’s grace and kindness upon them; otherwise, they too would have been swept away in the same current in which some Muslims were swept away. Therefore, to be protected from Satan’s tricks and deception, firstly, always seek help from Allah and keep turning to Him, and secondly, those who, due to the weakness of their souls, have fallen prey to Satan’s deception, do not make them a frequent target of blame, but rather try to reform them in a well-wishing manner.

21. O you who believe! Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan, then surely he commands only indecency [24] and evil deeds. And if it were not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you, none of you would ever have been purified [25]. But Allah purifies whom He wills [26], and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

[24]
After Shirk, the Second Attack of Satan is to Spread Immorality:

That is, it is the very task of Satan to involve you in evil and indecent deeds, thereby destroying your faith and leading you astray. The very first attack of Satan on a person is that he suggests new ways of shirk and presents them in a very attractive manner, from which very few people are saved. In this way, by leading one away from tawheed, he involves them in shirk. His second attack is to involve people in indecent acts, and he also presents these acts in a very attractive way. This is exactly what Satan did in Paradise. First, by showing beautiful promises and green gardens, he persuaded Adam ؑ and Hawwa to disobey Allah. As a result, their clothing was removed. Even today, Satan and his followers are engaged in the same work, saying that the four walls of the house are a prison for a woman and that restricting her freedom is akin to robbery; they also argue that hijab is an outdated thing. No nation can progress until women come out of the four walls of the house, work side by side with men without hijab; they also argue that keeping women confined at home negatively affects the national economy. All such statements are indecent, which are presented in an attractive way. Their real purpose is the free and open mixing of men and women, and the paths to immorality become very easy to open. Moreover, most of the indecent acts mentioned above are considered an inseparable part of modern civilization. By involving people in such acts, Satan entangles humans in even greater tribulations, and this is his real objective.

[25] That is, it was Allah’s special mercy that He saved you from being swept away in the current of this trial. Otherwise, Satan’s attack was so forceful that if Allah’s grace had not been with you, perhaps none of you could have been saved from being swept away in this current.

[26] That is, even to become or remain pure in character, Allah has a system. It is that whoever tries to remain pure in character, Allah grants him the Tawfiq (divine enablement) to remain pure. And He knows well who is worthy of this purity and who is not.