Al-An'aam 6:117 · The Cattle · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who is rightly guided."

Pickthall (classic)+

"Lo! thy Lord, He knoweth best who erreth from His way; and He knoweth best (who are) the rightly guided."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Thy Lord knoweth best who strayeth from His way: He knoweth best who they are that receive His guidance."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Most People are Misguided

Allah states that most of the people of the earth, are misguided. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَلَقَدْ ضَلَّ قَبْلَهُمْ أَكْثَرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ

(And indeed most of the men of old went astray before them.) 37:71 and,

وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And most of mankind will not believe even if you eagerly desire it.)12:103 They are misguided, yet they have doubts about their way, and they rely on wishful thinking and delusions.

إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ

(They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but lie.) Thus, they fulfill Allah's decree and decision concerning them,

هُوَ أَعْلَمُ مَن يَضِلُّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ

(It is He Who knows best who strays from His way.) and facilitates that for him,

وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

(And He knows best the rightly guided.) He facilitates that for them, all of them are facilitated for what He created them.

فَكُلُواْ مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِن كُنتُم بِآيَـتِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Всевышний Аллах говорит одну только правду и лучше знает тех, кто сбился с Его пути, и тех, кто следует прямым путем и ведет этим путем окружающих. Ему лучше знать, что приносит пользу людям, и Он более снисходителен к Своим рабам, чем они к самим себе, и поэтому правоверные обязаны прислушиваться к Его наставлениям и руководствоваться Его повелениями и запретами. Из этого аята следует, что истина не определяется многочисленностью ее приверженцев, и если определенные воззрения разделяет всего лишь небольшая группа людей, то это еще не означает, что они являются неправильными. Более того, чаще всего происходит наоборот, и приверженцы истины оказываются малочисленными, хотя перед Аллахом они занимают высокое положение и удостаиваются великой награды. Что же касается различения между истиной и ложью, то для этого необходимо использовать соответствующие критерии и мерила.

In the third verse (116), Allah Ta ala tells the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the majority of the progeny of 'Adam living on the earth is in error. Let him not be overawed by this situation and let him ignore what they say or do. The Qur'an has dealt with this subject at several places. In Surah As-Saaffaat, it is said: وَلَقَدْ ضَلَّ قَبْلَهُمْ أَكْثَرُ‌ الْأَوَّلِينَ ﴿71﴾ (And truly before them, many of the ancients went astray (37:71) In Su-rah Yusuf, it is said: وَمَا أَكْثَرُ‌ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَ‌صْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿103﴾ (And the majority of people - even if you wish - are not to be believers (12:103). The outcome is that the awe of majority customarily overwhelms an individual and he or she ends up following it. Therefore, the address made to the Holy Prophet ﷺ was:

And if you obey the majority of those on earth, they will make you lose the way of Allah. They follow nothing but whims, and they do nothing but make conjectures.'

The gist of the advice is that he should not be impressed by their numerical majority as a model to follow because they lack principles and go off the right way: At the end of the verse (117), it was said:

` Surely, your Lord knows best those who go astray from His way, and He is the best knower of those who are on the right path (consequently, as the errants shall be punished, the people of the straight path shall be rewarded).