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 Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
116. (O Muhammad ﷺ!) If you obey most of those on earth, they will lead you away from the path of Allah [121]. They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but guess.
[121]
The Religion of the Majority is Mere Imitation and Conjecture:
Both history and observation bear witness to the fact that, in any society, people of intellect, intelligence, and principles are few. The majority of society consists of ignorant masses. The Quran, at numerous places, has described such a majority as ignorant, defiantly disobedient, unjust, and polytheist. These people have no principles of their own. They neither possess knowledge of anything nor do they strive to acquire it. Other than their food and drink, they care for nothing, nor do they bother to think about anything else. Their way of living is such that they simply follow the direction in which the majority is heading. They neither wish to investigate anything nor are they able to do so; their beliefs and actions are all based on conjecture and assumption. Furthermore, since the opinions of the majority are also diverse and keep changing, following the majority always leads to misguidance. That is why you and the Muslims have been forbidden from following what they say. In contrast, the path of Allah’s guidance is only one, has always been one, and will always remain one. From our master Adam ؑ to the Last Prophet ﷺ, all the prophets have been instructed to follow this very path. Therefore, the seeker of truth should never look at which path the majority of the people of the world are following, but should, with full steadfastness, walk the path shown by Allah, no matter how few are those who walk upon it. From this very verse, the current Western democratic system is also declared invalid, in which the opinion of the majority is considered the standard of truth, and everyone’s opinion is given equal status. In this system, the opinion of a scholar and an ignorant person is given the same rank, and both these things are in clear contradiction to the explicit verses of the Quran.
[121]
The Religion of the Majority is Mere Imitation and Conjecture:
Both history and observation bear witness to the fact that, in any society, people of intellect, intelligence, and principles are few. The majority of society consists of ignorant masses. The Quran, at numerous places, has described such a majority as ignorant, defiantly disobedient, unjust, and polytheist. These people have no principles of their own. They neither possess knowledge of anything nor do they strive to acquire it. Other than their food and drink, they care for nothing, nor do they bother to think about anything else. Their way of living is such that they simply follow the direction in which the majority is heading. They neither wish to investigate anything nor are they able to do so; their beliefs and actions are all based on conjecture and assumption. Furthermore, since the opinions of the majority are also diverse and keep changing, following the majority always leads to misguidance. That is why you and the Muslims have been forbidden from following what they say. In contrast, the path of Allah’s guidance is only one, has always been one, and will always remain one. From our master Adam ؑ to the Last Prophet ﷺ, all the prophets have been instructed to follow this very path. Therefore, the seeker of truth should never look at which path the majority of the people of the world are following, but should, with full steadfastness, walk the path shown by Allah, no matter how few are those who walk upon it. From this very verse, the current Western democratic system is also declared invalid, in which the opinion of the majority is considered the standard of truth, and everyone’s opinion is given equal status. In this system, the opinion of a scholar and an ignorant person is given the same rank, and both these things are in clear contradiction to the explicit verses of the Quran.
