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
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَنَا قَالَ يَـٰلَيْتَ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكَ بُعْدَ ٱلْمَشْرِقَيْنِ فَبِئْسَ ٱلْقَرِينُ
Until, when he comes to Us [at Judgement], he says [to his companion], "How I wish there was between me and you the distance between the east and west; and what a wretched companion."
وَلَمَّا جَآءَ عِيسَىٰ بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ قَالَ قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِٱلْحِكْمَةِ وَلِأُبَيِّنَ لَكُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ ۖ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
And when Jesus brought clear proofs, he said, "I have come to you with wisdom [i.e., prophethood] and to make clear to you some of that over which you differ, so fear Allāh and obey me.
وَنَادَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ فِى قَوْمِهِۦ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ أَلَيْسَ لِى مُلْكُ مِصْرَ وَهَـٰذِهِ ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِىٓ ۖ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
And Pharaoh called out among his people; he said, "O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me; then do you not see?
ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
[The one] who has made for you the earth a bed and made for you upon it roads that you might be guided