كَيْفَ يَهْدِى ٱللَّهُ قَوْمًا كَفَرُوا۟ بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِهِمْ وَشَهِدُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱلرَّسُولَ حَقٌّ وَجَآءَهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 86
Translations
How shall Allāh guide a people who disbelieved after their belief and had witnessed that the Messenger is true and clear signs had come to them? And Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people.
Transliteration
Kayfa yahdī Allāhu qawman kafarū baʿda īmānihim wa shahidū anna al-rasūla ḥaqqun wa jāʾahum al-bayyināt wa-Allāhu lā yahdī al-qawm al-ẓālimīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah addresses those who knowingly reject faith after having believed and witnessed clear proofs (signs) and the truthfulness of the Messenger. Allah's guidance is withheld from such people because they are unjust (ẓālimūn)—having knowingly turned away from truth they recognized. Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi explain that Allah's refusal to guide the wrongdoers is a just consequence of their deliberate rejection; guidance is granted to those who genuinely seek it with sincere hearts, not to those who reject it willfully.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in the Medinan period within the broader context of Surah Ali 'Imran, which addresses the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) and hypocrites who rejected the Prophet despite clear evidence. The specific revelation context relates to those who apostasized or rejected Islam after initially accepting it, particularly referencing groups like some Christians who had recognized Jesus's truthfulness yet rejected the final Messenger.
Related Hadiths
The hadith of Hudhayfah in Sahih Bukhari describes the Prophet explaining those whose hearts are 'marked' (sealed) by disbelief, relating to intentional rejection after knowledge. Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim about the person who learns the Qur'an then rejects it illustrates the gravity of apostasy after clear knowledge.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that knowledge alone without sincere intention and righteous conduct does not guarantee divine guidance—those who knowingly reject truth after recognizing it bear full responsibility for their spiritual loss. For believers, it emphasizes the importance of protecting one's faith through continuous sincerity and acting upon knowledge, lest the heart become hardened and sealed from further guidance.
Related Ayahs
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَهِدَ إِلَيْنَآ أَلَّا نُؤْمِنَ لِرَسُولٍ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَنَا بِقُرْبَانٍ تَأْكُلُهُ ٱلنَّارُ ۗ قُلْ قَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِّن قَبْلِى بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَبِٱلَّذِى قُلْتُمْ فَلِمَ قَتَلْتُمُوهُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
[They are] those who said, "Indeed, Allāh has taken our promise not to believe any messenger until he brings us an offering which fire [from heaven] will consume." Say, "There have already come to you messengers before me with clear proofs and [even] that of which you speak. So why did you kill them, if you should be truthful?"
سَنُلْقِى فِى قُلُوبِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلرُّعْبَ بِمَآ أَشْرَكُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِۦ سُلْطَـٰنًا ۖ وَمَأْوَىٰهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ ۚ وَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allāh of which He had not sent down [any] authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers.
رَبَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا بِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ وَٱتَّبَعْنَا ٱلرَّسُولَ فَٱكْتُبْنَا مَعَ ٱلشَّـٰهِدِينَ
Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger [i.e., Jesus], so register us among the witnesses [to truth]."
إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَهُوَ ٱلْقَصَصُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۚ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَـٰهٍ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Indeed, this is the true narration. And there is no deity except Allāh. And indeed, Allāh is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.