وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ 116
Translations
And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allāh. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.
Transliteration
Wa-in tutī' akthara man fī al-arḍ yuḍillūka 'an sabīl Allāh. In yattabi'ūn illā al-ẓann wa-in hum illā yakhruṣūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah warns against blindly following the majority of people on earth, as they will lead one away from Allah's path, for they follow only conjecture and supposition rather than divine guidance. Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir emphasize that truth is not determined by popular opinion but by adherence to Qur'an and Sunnah. The ayah serves as a critical reminder that the majority may be in error, and one must rely on revelation rather than the speculative beliefs and practices of the masses.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period when the Prophet Muhammad faced rejection from most Meccans who clung to their ancestral pagan practices. It addresses the psychological challenge of standing alone against widespread disbelief and idolatry, reassuring believers that majority consensus does not validate falsehood. The surah Al-An'am discusses the signs of Allah and the futility of polytheism in this broader context.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.' This relates to following the guided path rather than popular trends. Additionally, the hadith about the 'saved sect' (al-firqah al-nājiyah) emphasizes that righteousness often follows the minority path.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers must have the moral courage to reject societal consensus when it contradicts divine revelation, understanding that truth is determined by Allah's guidance, not by majority agreement or popular culture.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ ۚ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يُنَزِّلَ ءَايَةً وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
And they say, "Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?" Say, "Indeed, Allāh is Able to send down a sign, but most of them do not know."
مَّن يُصْرَفْ عَنْهُ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمَهُۥ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
He from whom it is averted that Day - [Allāh] has granted him mercy. And that is the clear attainment.
وَهُوَ ٱللَّهُ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
And He is Allāh, [the only deity] in the heavens and the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public, and He knows that which you earn.
يَـٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّنكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِى وَيُنذِرُونَكُمْ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَـٰذَا ۚ قَالُوا۟ شَهِدْنَا عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِنَا ۖ وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَشَهِدُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ كَـٰفِرِينَ
"O company of jinn and mankind, did there not come to you messengers from among you, relating to you My verses and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?" They will say, "We bear witness against ourselves"; and the worldly life had deluded them, and they will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.