Al-Qasas (The Stories)

56. “Verily you cannot guide whom you like, but Allah guides whomever He pleases, and He knows best those that are guided.”

Divine prophet’s duty is conveying the Messages of Allah to people and showing the right way. Whether people accept or not it does not relate to them.

The verse says:

“Verily you cannot guide whom you like…”

Guiding people is the job of Allah which involves only the pure and receptive hearts.

The verse continues saying:

“…but Allah guides whomever He pleases, and He knows best those that are guided.”

Regarding the fact that the previous verses referred to two groups of the people of Mecca: the obstinate pagans in whom the light of Faith did not penetrate though the Messenger of Allah (S) tried to guide them.

On the contrary, a group of the People of the Book and those who were in some distance places, accepted the Divine guidance and eagerly tried their best in the way of Islam, and they did not fear of the opposition of their near relatives and the arrogant ignorant pagans.

Keeping these things in mind, the above verse uncovers the curtain from over this fact that the Prophet (S) could not guide whomever he liked, but Allah guides whomever He pleases.

Allah knows those who are eligible to accept Faith. He knows which hearts are eager for the Truth, He knows which minds contain the love of Allah. Yes, He knows these persons well and He gives them success, and endows them His grace so that they be guided towards Faith.

But those dark hearted evil doers who are inwardly enemy of the Truth, and they struggle against the messengers of Allah (as) with all their strength, and, from the point of life, they are so polluted and disdained that are not eligible for the light of Faith, Allah (s.w.t.) does not set the torch of success above their way.

Therefore, the purpose of guidance, here, is not ‘showing the way’, because showing the way is the main job of the Prophet (S) and he shows the way to everybody unexceptionally, but the purpose of guidance, here, is remittance to that which is sought and causing them to reach the destination.

This is only the job of Allah that He spreads the seed of faith in the hearts, and His deed is not done undue either. He looks at the receptive hearts and cast this heavenly light into them.

However, this verse is a kind of console for the Prophet (S) that he regards this fact that neither the persistence of a group of idolaters of Mecca upon polytheism is undue, nor the sincere faith of the people of Ethiopia, or Najran and the like in becoming Muslim.

He should never be worried of the disbelief of the first group, because this divine light goes only into the receptive hearts, wherever it arrives it erects camp therein.

There are many examples of this meaning found in the verses of the Holy Qur’an.

Surah Al-Baqarah, No. 2, verse 272 says:

“It is not upon you to guide them (O’ Muhammad), but Allah guides aright whomever He wills…”

Surah Yunus, No. 10, verse 43 says:

“And some of them look at you, but can you guide the blind even though they will not see (inwardly)?”

And, in Surah ’Ibrahim, No. 14, verse 4 it says:

“…then Allah leads astray whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.”

The last sentence of the recent verse shows that the will of Allah concerning these two groups is not undue, but it is according to His Wisdom and upon the competencies, activities, and efforts of the persons. It is only upon this basis that Allah gives the success of guidance to a group and negates it in another group.

Now pay attention to this matter that the content of this verse, which is a consolation for the Prophet (S), has been repeated in some other verses of the Qur’an with some rather different statements and meanings; including, Surah Yusuf, No. 12, verse 103 that says:

“And most people will not believe, though you desire it.”

Or Surah Al-Baqarah, No. 2, verse 272 says:

“It is not upon you to guide them (O’ Muhammad), but Allah guides aright whomever He wills…”

Yet, in the commentary of Durr-ul-Manthur, Vol. 5, as well as some other commentaries, there have been narrated some narrations from Sunnites indicating that when Abutalib, Ali’s father, was going to die, the holy Prophet (S) went to him and suggested Islam to him but he did not accept it, and then this verse was revealed.

But apart from the fact that what the occasion of revelation is, or whether it relates to the father of Ali (as) or not, with a little care, the lack of this relation is proved, because the continuation of the verse is about a group of the believers of the People of the Book comparing with the pagans of Mecca.

Now, in order to make the fact clear, we discuss on these narrations and the faith of Hadrat Abutalib.

‘Allamah ’Amini, the author of the worthy book of Al-Qadir, in Vol. 8, P. 19 on rejecting all these forged narrations and relying on the historical documents, believes that the narrators of such narrations were either some little infants at the time of the death of Hadrat Abutalib, or, like ’Abu-Hurayrah, had not embraced Islam yet.

Again, in pages 330 to 410 of the same volume, ‘Allamah proves that Hadrat Abutalib was a true believer. He narrates hundreds of poems from that Hadrat himself, ten reminiscences and forty traditions from the Ahl-ul-Bayt of the holy Prophet (S) which denote to his belief in Allah and the Messenger of Allah. Some of these evidences are as:

1- The words of the Prophet (S) and the immaculate Imams (as) about him.

2- The grief and sorrow of the Prophet (S) for Abutalib’s death, so grievous that that year was named /‘am-ul-huzn/ (The year of grief).

3- The Prophet’s invocation (S) on the pulpit for ’Abutalib and attending in his funeral.

4- The Prophet’s tradition (S) by which he said he would be the interceder of his parents and his uncle ’Abutalib on the Day of Hereafter.

5- The testament of ’Abutalib in which he supported Bani Hashim and the Prophet of Islam (S).

6- His recommendation to his wife and his son, Ja‘far, for supporting the Prophet (S) and to regard Islam and prayer (salat) are some evidences.

7- His abundant supports in regard to the Prophet (S) by the nights of danger when he changed the sleeping place of the Prophet (S) with the sleeping place of his son, Ali (as), and that he exposed his son to danger.

8- The life of Fatimah-Bent-Asad with Abu-Talib, in whose Islam there is no doubt, is an evidence, because if Hadrat ’Abu-Talib were not Muslim, a Muslim woman would surely not be his wife.

9- The existence of a great deal of poems which denote to his confess to Islam. Yet, how ignorance, ingratitude and injustice it is that some people persistently tried to say that this sincere Unitarian believer died in paganism.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that the only his unforgivable sin was that he was Ali’s father (as). Ali’s enemies spent a great deal of money in the way of striking him. They concocted many false narrations, and in order to set a kind of relation between Abutalib, Ali’s father (as), and Abusufyan, the father of Mu‘awiyah, they accused Abutalib of paganism.

For more information, you may refer to the commentary books of Shi‘ah and the narrations of Ahl-ul-Bayt (as) cited following the abovementioned verse.