سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْعَامِ
Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 116
وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ ﴿116﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from Allâh’s Path. They follow nothing but conjectures, and they do nothing but lie.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِن
wa-in
And if
تُطِعْ
tuṭiʿ
you obey
أَكْثَرَ
akthara
most
مَن
man
of
فِى
fī
(those) in
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the earth
يُضِلُّوكَ
yuḍillūka
they will mislead you
عَن
ʿan
from
سَبِيلِ
sabīli
(the) way
ٱللَّهِ ۚ
l-lahi
(of) Allah
إِن
in
Not
يَتَّبِعُونَ
yattabiʿūna
they follow
إِلَّا
illā
except
ٱلظَّنَّ
l-ẓana
[the] assumption
وَإِنْ
wa-in
and not
هُمْ
hum
they (do)
إِلَّا
illā
except
يَخْرُصُونَ
yakhruṣūna
guess
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 116) {وَ اِنْ تُطِعْ اَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الْاَرْضِ ……: } In this noble verse, Allah Almighty has warned His Prophet that majority should not be considered as proof of truth in your view, and you should not follow the people of the earth merely on the basis of their numbers, otherwise you will deviate from the path of truth. These disbelievers, who are in large numbers, are under the false impression that their forefathers were upon the truth, so they imitate them. They have no other proof except that the majority of people are upon the same religion as theirs. These people make conjectural statements about Allah Almighty; sometimes they say someone is Allah’s son, sometimes they make idols their intercessors with Allah, and sometimes they declare animals slaughtered in the name of the dead and other than Allah as lawful. From this verse, the reality of the present-day democracy also becomes clear, in which only the majority is considered decisive. Regarding the majority, Allah Almighty has mentioned in addition to this verse that they are not upon the truth: «وَ مَاۤ اَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَ لَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِيْنَ » [یوسف : ۱۰۳ ] “And most people, even if you strive [for it], are not believers.” And He said: «وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ » [ یونس : ۵۵ ] “But most of them do not know.” And He said: «وَ قَلِيْلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُوْرُ » [سبا : ۱۳ ] “And very few of My servants are truly grateful.” And He said: «اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ وَ قَلِيْلٌ مَّا هُمْ» [ ص : ۲۴ ] “Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and they are very few.”
Now, on one side is Allah’s command, for which there can be no firmer proof, and on the other side is the majority, whose foundation is merely their conjecture and guesswork, and on the basis of this guesswork, they have declared countless forbidden things, such as shirk, usury, adultery, the act of the people of Lot, etc., as lawful, and have declared countless lawful things as forbidden. So tell me, on which side will the truth be? Therefore, in this verse, obedience to the majority of the people of the earth has been forbidden in opposition to Allah’s command.
Now, on one side is Allah’s command, for which there can be no firmer proof, and on the other side is the majority, whose foundation is merely their conjecture and guesswork, and on the basis of this guesswork, they have declared countless forbidden things, such as shirk, usury, adultery, the act of the people of Lot, etc., as lawful, and have declared countless lawful things as forbidden. So tell me, on which side will the truth be? Therefore, in this verse, obedience to the majority of the people of the earth has been forbidden in opposition to Allah’s command.
