Guidance and Error (Hidayat-o-Zalalat):

In this trial, man has been asked to guard himself from going astray and consciously adopt the guided path. The Quran has informed us that this guidance is found in the very nature of a person. Moreover, once a person attains the age of intellectual maturity, the signs of the heavens and the earth around him direct his attention to this guidance. If a person values and treasures this guidance and benefits from it and is grateful to his Lord for it, it is the practice and law of God that He increases the glow of this guidance and creates in a person a further desire for this guidance and as a result of this induces in him the urge to benefit from the guidance brought by the prophets of God:

نُّورٌ عَلَى نُورٍ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ لِنُورِهِ مَن يَشَاء وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الْأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ (٣٥:٢٤)

Light upon light. God guides to His light whom He wills and God cites parables to mankind and God has knowledge of all things. (24:35)

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْواهُمْ (١٧:٤٧)

And those who are guided, He will increase their guidance and also grant them their share of piety. (47:17)

This can be called culmination of guidance and the Quran has stated with full clarity that without the will of God even a desire for obtaining it is not produced in a person. This will of God is also related to this law of guidance of His. God is aware of everything and is also wise: He gives this favour to only those who accept the guidance ingrained in their nature:

إِنَّ هَذِهِ تَذْكِرَةٌ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ سَبِيلًا وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا يُدْخِلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ وَالظَّالِمِينَ أَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا (٧٦: ٢٧-٣١)

This [Quran] is only a reminder. So whoever wishes he should take the path leading to Allah and you do not wish [O People!] until Allah so wishes [according to His law]. Indeed, Allah is all-knowing, wise. He admits into His mercy whomever He wishes [on the basis of this knowledge and wisdom]. And for the wrongdoers, He has prepared a grievous punishment. (76:27-31)

If a person decides upon evading this ingrained guidance, refuses to use his intellect, and deliberately deviates from the truth, then in the words of the Quran this is zulm (wronging the soul) and fisq (defiance) and the Almighty never guides a person who continues to wrong his soul and persists in defiance and He leaves him to wander in the darkness of error and misguidance:

وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَن تُؤْمِنَ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَيَجْعَلُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ (١٠٠:١٠)

It is not possible for anyone to profess faith [in the Prophet] except by God’s permission. [This permission is only granted to those who use their intellect] and those who do not use their intellect He puts on them the dirt of [error and misguidance]. (10:100)

The consequence of such behaviour is that the obduracy, stubbornness and selfishness of such wrong-doers increase and they are deprived of the ability to think and understand in the right way. A state reaches when the Almighty seals their hearts in retribution of this wrong behavior:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَى سَمْعِهِمْ وَعَلَى أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ (٢: ٦-٧)

Those who have decided to reject [this Book], it is the same to them whether you warn them or not; they will not believe. Allah has [now] set a seal on their hearts and on their ears [in accordance with His law], and on their eyes is a veil and great is the penalty that awaits them on the Day of Judgment. (2:6-7)

At another place, the words are:

وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ لَئِن جَاءتْهُمْ آيَةٌ لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا الآيَاتُ عِندَ اللّهِ وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَا إِذَا جَاءتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَارَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَنَذَرُهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ (٦: ١٠٩-١١٠)

These people keep solemnly swearing by God that if a sign comes, they will definitely believe in it. Tell them: “Signs are with God” and how will you know that even if signs come they will not believe and [in retribution of their sins] We will turn away their hearts and eyes [from the truth] since they refused to express belief at first and We will let them wander about in their wrongdoing. (6:109-110)

Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi writes:

This is a mention of the practice of God according to which some are blessed with faith and some deprived of it … people who deliberate on the innumerable signs which are found in this world and in the world within their ownselves and with their heart and soul adhere to the obvious consequences of this deliberation are blessed with faith. On the other hand, people who in spite of witnessing all these signs turn deaf and blind to them and take to narcissism and remain caught up in their desires, and do not open their eyes even after persistent reminders by the Quran and the Prophet (sws), their hearts and eyes are turned away from the truth by the Almighty as a result of which they are deprived of correct vision and understanding. After this, the greatest of signs and miracles have no effect on them. The practice of God is that the hearts and thoughts of people who instead of looking straight and walking in the right direction look crookedly and walk in the wrong direction are rendered warped and crooked. The Quranic verse: فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ (٥:٦١) (And when they deviated [from the truth], God led away their hearts [from the truth], (61:5)) points to this very practice of the Almighty. Here, in the verse under discussion, while referring to this practice of God, Muslims are prodded that how do they believe that if such people according to their demand are shown a miracle they will become believers. If so, many signs which exist in the world around man and in that within him and towards which the Quran has pointed and explained their implications have failed to convince their hearts and set right their vision? How can another sign change and convince them? How can the veil which stretches across their vision today be lifted tomorrow and how can the blindness in them which today stops them from seeing such signs go away when a new sign is shown to them? The way they have been belying all signs throughout their lives will only make them belie another sign and the metamorphosis which you see today in their hearts and eyes will play its role tomorrow also when they witness the sign.[1]

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

_______________________

[1] Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 2nd ed., vol. 4, 558