وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ لَوْ يُطِيعُكُمْ فِى كَثِيرٍ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ لَعَنِتُّمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْإِيمَـٰنَ وَزَيَّنَهُۥ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ ٱلْكُفْرَ وَٱلْفُسُوقَ وَٱلْعِصْيَانَ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلرَّٰشِدُونَ 7
Translations
And know that among you is the Messenger of Allāh. If he were to obey you in much of the matter, you would be in difficulty, but Allāh has endeared to you the faith and has made it pleasing in your hearts and has made hateful to you disbelief, defiance and disobedience. Those are the [rightly] guided.
Transliteration
Wa'lamuoo anna feekum rasoolu Allah. Law yuteeukum fee katheerim min al-amri la'antuttum wa lakin Allah habbaba ilaikumul eemana wa zayyanahu fee quloobikum wa karraha ilaikumul kufra wal fusooqa wal isyaan. Ulaika hum ar-rashidoon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah emphasizes the Companions' good fortune in having the Prophet Muhammad among them, while warning that blind obedience to their desires would have led them to ruin. Allah has blessed them by making faith attractive to their hearts and making disbelief, transgression, and disobedience repugnant to them. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this verse affirms divine grace in guiding the believers and establishing proper order with prophetic leadership, not democratic rule by popular whim.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Hujurat, revealed in the late Medinan period (likely 4-9 AH), addressing the Companions directly about proper etiquette and behavior. The broader context concerns the Companions' correction after they spoke without permission and made haste without consulting the Prophet (49:1-5), establishing that prophetic guidance supersedes communal preference.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet said, 'The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027). Additionally, 'I have left among you the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet; if you follow them, you will never go astray' (Hadith in Muwatta Malik and others), emphasizing reliance on prophetic guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
Muslims should recognize that following prophetic guidance—even when it contradicts personal preferences—is a mercy from Allah that protects them from misguidance and ruin. Cultivating love for faith and disdain for sin is not merely personal achievement but a divine blessing that comes through sincere submission and trust in Allah's revelation through His messenger.