وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمْ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ 37
Translations
And indeed, they [i.e., the devils] avert them from the way [of guidance] while they think that they are [rightly] guided
Transliteration
Wa-innahum layaṣiddūnahum 'anis-sabīl wa-yaḥsabūn anna-hum muhtadūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to how Satan and his allies turn people away from the path of Allah while those being misled falsely believe they are rightly guided. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this describes the deception of disbelievers and those who follow misguidance—they are diverted from the straight path yet convinced of their own righteousness, which intensifies their error and prevents repentance.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Az-Zukhruf, which discusses the ornaments and luxuries of worldly life that distract people from faith, and the deception perpetrated by Satan. The broader surah addresses how people are led astray from monotheism through false idolatry and worldly temptations, making this ayah thematically central to the surah's message about spiritual blindness.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family' (Tirmidhi). Related thematically: 'Whoever is misled, Allah has not misled him, and whoever Allah guides, none can misguide' (Tirmidhi), emphasizing the active nature of misguidance versus guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah warns believers to continuously examine their beliefs and actions with sincere introspection, ensuring they follow truth rather than assuming they are rightly guided—a sobering reminder that conviction in falsehood is one of Satan's most effective tools, and that claiming to be guided without evidence is itself a sign of misguidance.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ إِن كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ وَلَدٌ فَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْعَـٰبِدِينَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "If the Most Merciful had a son, then I would be the first of [his] worshippers."
وَلَوْلَآ أَن يَكُونَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَٰحِدَةً لَّجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِّن فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ
And if it were not that the people would become one community [of disbelievers], We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful - for their houses - ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount.
فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلًا لِّلْـَٔاخِرِينَ
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَإِي۟هِۦ فَقَالَ إِنِّى رَسُولُ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
And certainly did We send Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his establishment, and he said, "Indeed, I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds."