An-Noor 24:21

"O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allāh upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allāh purifies whom He wills, and Allāh is Hearing and Knowing."

A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning against following the Footsteps of Shaytan

Allah says:

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, and that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful.) meaning, if it were not for this, it would have been another matter altogether, but He, may He be exalted, is full of kindness towards His servants and Merciful towards them. He accepts the repentance of those who repent to Him from this sin, and purifies those among them who are purified by the prescribed punishment carried out on them. Then Allah says:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ

(O you who believe! Follow not the Khutuwat of Shaytan.) hmeaning, his ways and paths and what he commands,

وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ

(And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily, he commands immorality and the evil deeds.) This is a warning given in the most concise and eloquent manner. `Ali bin Abi Talhah recorded from Ibn `Abbas that

خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ

(the Khutuwat of Shaytan) means his deeds. `Ikrimah said that it means his evil whispers. Qatadah said: "Every sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan." Abu Mijlaz said: "Vowing to commit sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan." Then Allah says:

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَداً

(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins.) meaning, if He did not help whomever He wills to repent and come back to Him and be purified from Shirk, evil and sin, and whatever bad characteristics each person has according to his nature, no one would ever attain purity and goodness.

وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ

(But Allah purifies whom He wills) means, among His creation, and He sends astray whomever He wills, leaving him to be doomed in his misguidance and sin.

وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ

(and Allah is All-Hearer,) means, He hears what His servants say,

عَلِيمٌ

(All-Knower.) of who deserves to be guided and who deserves to be misguided.

A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning against following the Footsteps of Shaytan

Allah says:

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ

(O you who believe! Follow not the Khutuwat of Shaytan.) hmeaning, his ways and paths and what he commands,

وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ

خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَداً

وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ

(But Allah purifies whom He wills) means, among His creation, and He sends astray whomever He wills, leaving him to be doomed in his misguidance and sin.

وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ

(and Allah is All-Hearer,) means, He hears what His servants say,

عَلِيمٌ

(All-Knower.) of who deserves to be guided and who deserves to be misguided.

О правоверные! Не повинуйтесь сатане и не уступайте его искушениям. Под стопами сатаны подразумеваются всевозможные грехи, которые совершаются душой, языком и телом. По Своей мудрости Всевышний Аллах разъяснил людям, что они не имеют права следовать по стопам сатаны. Но мудрость религиозного предписания можно постичь только тогда, когда человеку разъяснено зло, которое влечет за собой тот или иной грех, и разъяснены причины, по которым ему следует отречься от этого греха. Именно поэтому Аллах возвестил о том, что сатана призывает людей к мерзости и нечестию. Мерзостью называются тяжкие грехи, к которым человеческая душа испытывает стремление. Эти грехи признаются омерзительными как здравым смыслом, так и мусульманским шариатом. А предосудительными называются деяния, которые не одобряются человеческим разумом. Грехи, которые являются стопами сатаны, обязательно относятся либо к мерзким, либо к предосудительным деяниям. И по Своей милости Аллах запретил Своим рабам совершать эти грехи. Люди же должны благодарить Аллаха и поминать Его, потому что Его повеления и запреты оберегают их от осквернения мерзкими и порочными деяниями. Аллах запретил совершать эти деяния так же, как Он запретил Своим рабам употреблять смертельные яды, и это свидетельствует о Его милости и добродетели. И если бы не эти качества Господа, то люди никогда не смогли бы противостоять сатане, который вместе со своими поборниками непрестанно призывает людей ступить на его путь и приукрашивает его всеми возможными способами. А ведь человеческая душа испытывает склонность ко всему дурному, да и недостатки давят на человека со всех сторон. Вдобавок ко всему, вера зачастую оказывается слабой. И если бы человек остался один на один со столькими врагами, то он никогда не смог бы очиститься от грехов и злодеяний и вырасти благодаря праведным деяниям. И здесь уместно отметить, что арабское слово закят означает ‘очищение’, ‘рост’. А это значит, что люди очищаются от грехов и совершают праведные деяния только по милости Господа. Именно поэтому одна из молитв Пророка Мухаммада, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, гласит: «О Аллах! Одари мою душу богобоязненностью и очисти ее, ведь Ты - лучший из тех, кто очищает души. Ты - ее господин и покровитель!» Однако Аллах очищает того, кого пожелает. Ему известно, кто из людей сможет очиститься, потому что среди Его прекрасных имен - Слышащий и Знающий.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَن تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَ‌ةِ

Surely, those who like that shamelessness spreads among the believers, for them there is a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter - 24:19.

Those who had taken part in any way in the slander are again condemned in this verse, and are warned with the punishment in the world and in the Hereafter. An extra element in this verse is that those who propagate such rumors actually want the spread of obscenity and immorality among the Muslims.

The Qur'anic system for the prevention of obscenity

The Holy Qur'an has drawn out this unique system for the prevention of obscenity that, in the first place such a news should not spread, and if at all it is leaked out, it should be backed up with lawful proof, so that the punishment of adultery is also executed publicly, immediately after the spread of the news. This way the publicity itself will serve as a preventive measure. If there were no condition of lawful proof, then it would have been lot easy to pass on and publicize such scandals, especially, when there is no punishment attached to it. Absence of any fear against spreading scandals leads to minimizing the repulsion against immorality and obscenity from the people's mind; rather it encourages to indulge in such crimes and to propagate them. This is an everyday experience that this sort of scandals is published in the newspapers daily. Young men and women read them frequently. As a result, the intensity of such wicked acts is minimized gradually, and instead a slow inclination for indulging in them develops in their minds. It is for this reason that the Holy Qur’ an has allowed publicity of such news only in such situations when it is supported with lawful evidence, so that people should see the severe punishment for the obscene crime along with the news of adultery when they learn about it. Where there is no proof and punishment, Qur'an has proclaimed the publicity of such news as a tool for spreading obscenity among the Muslims. This vital point needs to be pondered by the Muslims. This verse actually emphasizes that to give publicity to scandals without proof will invite very severe punishment both in this world and in the Hereafter. The punishment in the Hereafter will naturally follow after the Dooms Day, and thus cannot be experienced here, but the punishment of the world can be seen. So, those who were punished for false accusation have in fact experienced the punishment of the world. If anyone has escaped the execution of the punishment for want of proof needed for the award of this punishment, even then he has earned the punishment (which will be executed in the Hereafter). For the implication of the verse even this is enough.

Other English translations

Tafsīr · classical commentary

A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning against following the Footsteps of Shaytan

An-Noor 24:21

Other English translations

Tafsīr · classical commentary

A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning against following the Footsteps of Shaytan