Surah Faatir (35) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ { اَفَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهٗ سُوْٓءُ عَمَلِهٖ :} Its answer is omitted: {’’أَيْ كَمَنْ لَيْسَ كَذٰلِكَ‘‘} That is, is the person for whom his evil deed has been made attractive so he considers it good, like the one who is not like that? Obviously, both cannot be equal. Such a person cannot be like the one who has been granted guidance from Allah and acts upon it. Elsewhere, this has been stated in clear words: « اَفَمَنْ كَانَ عَلٰى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّنْ رَّبِّهٖ كَمَنْ زُيِّنَ لَهٗ سُوْٓءُ عَمَلِهٖ وَ اتَّبَعُوْۤا اَهْوَآءَهُمْ» [محمد : ۱۴ ] "So is the one who is upon a clear proof from his Lord like the one for whom his evil deeds have been made attractive and they follow their desires?" The meaning is that the disbeliever and the believer cannot be equal, nor can the person for whom his evil deed has been made attractive so he considers it good, be like the one who, although he does a bad deed, still considers it bad, not good. Obviously, these two persons also cannot be equal, because a person who does a bad deed and considers it bad, there is hope that he may come to the right path at some point, but the one who does a bad deed but does it considering it good, there is never hope for him to come to the right path, as Allah has said: «قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالْاَخْسَرِيْنَ اَعْمَالًا (103) اَلَّذِيْنَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَ هُمْ يَحْسَبُوْنَ اَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُوْنَ صُنْعًا » [ الکہف : ۱۰۳، ۱۰۴ ] "Say, shall We inform you of the greatest losers in deeds? They are those whose effort is lost in worldly life while they think that they are doing good work." In this verse, the evil deed refers to disbelief and polytheism, as after the verse in Surah Al-Kahf it is said: « اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَ لِقَآىِٕهٖ » [ الکہف : ۱۰۵ ] "These are the ones who denied the signs of their Lord and the meeting with Him." However, due to the general wording of the verse, innovators are also included in this, because they act upon innovation considering it a good deed. Obviously, a person who commits theft, adultery, or murder considers himself sinful, so there is hope that he will repent, but a person who acts upon a self-made religion, for example, reciting self-made or people's invented litanies or other acts, does so considering it a good deed, so how can he be granted the ability to repent? Therefore, when Satan does not succeed in making someone a disbeliever, his greatest success is to make him follow some innovation, which he will continue to do considering it a good deed, and the more effort he puts into it, the further he will go from Allah's mercy, because every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance is in the Fire.

➋ { فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَ يَهْدِيْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ :} That is, the existence of such people is only due to Allah's will, and the misguidance of some and the guidance of others is the result of His wisdom. If He willed, He could have guided everyone, but He misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills, although His guiding or misguiding is also the result of a person's actions or capacity, as He said: «وَ مَا يُضِلُّ بِهٖۤ اِلَّا الْفٰسِقِيْنَ» [ البقرۃ : ۲۶ ] "And He does not misguide with it except the defiantly disobedient."

➌ {فَلَا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرٰتٍ : ’’ حَسَرٰتٍ ‘‘} Singular {’’حَسْرَةٌ‘‘} Intense grief and regret over losing something, that is, your job is to convey the message and invitation, bringing them to the right path is not within your power. Therefore, it should not be that due to grief and regret over their not believing, your life is lost. In this, there is consolation for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the persistence of the disbelievers in disbelief is by Allah's will, you should fulfill your duty, it is not your responsibility for people to believe. This verse also expresses how much grief and sorrow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt over people not believing, to the extent that it was near that he would lose his life in this grief, as He said: « فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلٰۤى اٰثَارِهِمْ اِنْ لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُوْا بِهٰذَا الْحَدِيْثِ اَسَفًا» [ الکہف : ۶ ] "So perhaps you would kill yourself in grief over them if they do not believe in this statement." And He said: « لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ اَلَّا يَكُوْنُوْا مُؤْمِنِيْنَ» [ الشعراء : ۳ ] "Perhaps you would kill yourself with grief because they do not become believers."

➍ { اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيْمٌۢ بِمَا يَصْنَعُوْنَ :} In this sentence, there is a warning that a time will come when Allah will punish them for their evil deeds. When a ruler says to a criminal that I am well aware of your actions, in fact, he is informing him that he will certainly punish him for it.

8. 1 Just as the disbelievers and evildoers are, they commit disbelief, shirk, wickedness, and immorality, yet they think they are doing good. So, is there any means of rescue with you for such a person whom Allah has led astray? Or is he equal to the one whom Allah has blessed with guidance? The answer is in the negative—no, certainly not.

8. 2 Allah, according to His justice and His established way, leads astray the one who, through his continuous actions, makes himself deserving of it, and He grants guidance out of His grace and mercy to the one who seeks it.

8. 3 Because every act of Allah is based on wisdom and complete knowledge, do not grieve so much over someone’s misguidance that you put your own life at risk.

8. 4 That is, no word or deed of theirs is hidden from Him. The meaning is that Allah’s dealing with them is like that of the All-Knowing, All-Aware, and Wise—not like ordinary kings who use their authority haphazardly, sometimes getting angry even at a greeting, and sometimes bestowing robes of honor even for abuse.

8. Is it then that the one whose evil deed is made attractive to him so that he sees it as good [12] (is there any limit to his misguidance)? Indeed, Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. So do not let yourself perish in regret over them. Surely Allah is All-Knowing of what they do.

[12]
Your Distress Over the Disbelief of the Disbelievers:

In this verse, there is an omitted phrase which has been left to the understanding and insight of the reader. This is a sign of eloquence and rhetoric. Such omissions are frequently found in the Quran. Here, the question is posed: can a person whose mind has become so corrupted that he can no longer distinguish between good and evil, and his evil deeds appear to him as good deeds— the next part of this interrogative sentence has been left out. One possible completion is: is there any limit to his misguidance? (As has been written in brackets in the translation.) Another possible completion is: can such a corrupted-minded person be like the one whose mind is completely sound, who considers evil as evil and regards only that as good which is truly good? And the clear answer is that these two can never be equal. The purpose is that a person whose mind has become so corrupted that he no longer has the ability to recognize evil as evil, such a person is never shown the path of guidance by Allah. Allah only shows the path of guidance to the one who at least recognizes evil as evil. And the condition of these polytheists of Makkah has become such that no matter how much oppression they inflict upon the Muslims, they consider their oppression and violence to be a virtue and a good deed. Then how can they receive guidance? Therefore, do not distress yourself over the guidance of such mentally corrupted patients. There is no need to grieve over such people. Allah knows well whatever they are doing; He Himself will deal with them and will Himself create a way for the Muslims to be saved from the oppression of these tyrants.