“Allah increases in guidance those who seek guidance.” Qur’an, 19:76
“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of
Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.” Qur’an, 8:22
“As for those who strive in Our cause, We shall surely
guide them to Our ways.” Qur’an,
29:69
What Is Guidance?
Guidance means feeling comfortable with God’s scheme for
this life, as revealed in His message, and being inclined to live accordingly.
Why Is It Important?
True guidance is the most valuable blessing a human being
can possibly have. While all other worldly blessings are temporary, guidance is
the only blessing whose benefits will last forever.
Moreover, the worldly blessings we possess are not
necessarily given to us because we deserve them. They are different
manifestations of God’s trial for us in this life. Whether it is wealth,
intelligence, fame, contacts, health, or beauty, each of these blessings is
only partly, if at all, the result of our own efforts.
However, guidance is the one blessing that God has decided
to grant on the basis of merit, because its effects will be experienced for
eternity.
How Is It Decided?
The important question is: How does God decide whether a
person is to be guided or not? Before answering this question, let us examine a
common misconception regarding guidance.
Many Muslims believe that guidance is not necessarily based
on merit. Instead, they regard it as a special privilege that God exercises as
He chooses, seemingly at random. The Qur’an, for instance, says:
“We have not sent any messenger except that he speaks the
language of his own people, so that he could explain to them clearly. Then God
misguides whom He wills and guides whom He pleases.” (14:4)
However, a more careful reading of the Qur’an suggests that
there is a definite law governing God’s decision to guide some people and
misguide others. To understand this law, we need to appreciate certain features
of the trial we are undergoing in this life.
Features of Worldly Life and the Law of Guidance
i. Freedom
For this life to serve as a trial, God has given human
beings the freedom to choose. It is this freedom that makes us accountable to
Him. The greater our freedom, the greater our accountability. Had we been
operating mechanically, like robots, without any freedom of choice, we would
not have been accountable to God at all.
Human freedom enables us to choose, from among the
possibilities available to us, the course of action we prefer.
It was the angels’ understanding of the freedom human beings
would possess that caused them concern about God’s plan to create humankind.
The Qur’an mentions:
“(Remind them of the occasion) when your Lord said to the
angels: ‘I am planning to create an independent agent on earth (khalifah).’
They said: ‘Will You place there one who will make mischief and shed blood
while we sing Your praises and glorify Your name?’ He said: ‘I know what you
know not.’” (2:30)
When the angels realised that the khalifah God
intended to create would be free to act as he wished, they expressed concern
that the choices human beings might make could lead to serious problems.
ii. Appreciation of Right and Wrong
The Qur’an tells us that, alongside freedom of choice, God
has also made the distinction between the right path and the wrong one clear to
us.
“Then We guided him to the (right) way: it is his choice
either to be grateful or be ungrateful.” (76:3)
In other words, although human beings are free to choose
between the right and wrong paths, they are not entirely unaware of the
distinction between them.
The same point is reiterated in another passage:
“By the soul and the proportion and order given to it;
then He inspired it to understand what is right from what is wrong.”
(91:7–8)
These verses clarify that the ability to distinguish right
from wrong is part of God’s design. The freedom given to human beings is
primarily intended to test which path they choose to follow.
In yet another passage, the Qur’an refers to human
conscience as the reproaching, or self-critical, soul. This is presented as
evidence of the accountability that awaits human beings in the next life:
“I bear witness to the reproaching soul (to the certainty
of resurrection).” (75:2)
iii. The Wrong Path Made Attractive
Alongside freedom of choice and the ability to distinguish
good from evil, there is another aspect of the trial of life: evil can also be
attractive.
The Qur’an says:
“We have made that which is on earth a glittering show
for it in order that we may test them as to which of them are best in conduct.”
(18:7)
In other words, the attraction of worldly things can make
the trial of life difficult.
In another passage, the Qur’an explains that this temptation
becomes more difficult because the benefits of wrongdoing are often immediate,
whereas the rewards of doing good are deferred until the Hereafter:
“No! But you love the immediate (al-‘Ajilah) and neglect
the Hereafter (al-Akhirah).” (75:20)
Nevertheless, when a person does wrong, he knows what he is
doing, even if he offers excuses to justify his actions:
“Nay, man is evidence against himself, though he puts
forth excuses.” (75:14–15)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have
said:
“The (Hell) Fire is covered with temptations and
passions, and Paradise is covered with difficulties.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is quoted in the
Bible as saying:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.” (Gospel of Matthew 7:13–14)
iv. Taysir and Imhal
The Qur’an tells us that, for the trial of this life to be
possible, God has decided to allow both good and evil to be practised without
unnecessary hindrance. He facilitates the way of righteousness (taysir)
while allowing evil to be practised without immediate restraint (imhal).
The Qur’an says:
“So for him who gives in charity, is careful, and
testifies to goodness, We shall facilitate the easy way for him (taysir). As
for him who does not give, is carefree, and rejects goodness, We shall
facilitate the hard way for him (imhal).” (92:5–10)
v. Degeneration
Another aspect of the trial of life is that, although the
human conscience protests when a person does something wrong, its ability to do
so gradually weakens when its warnings are repeatedly ignored.
When a person tells a lie for the first time, for instance,
his conscience may condemn him strongly. However, if he ignores that warning
and continues to lie, his conscience may continue to protest, but with
diminishing intensity.
This process continues until the person reaches a point
where his conscience no longer protests meaningfully against his wrongdoing. In
this way, the human conscience can cease to function effectively when its
warnings are constantly ignored.
It is those whose consciences have become deadened who,
according to the Qur’an, find it difficult to accept God’s revelation, because
that revelation appeals to the purity of human nature.
The Book of God speaks of corrupt traders who used to cheat
people in their dealings:
“Woe to the defrauders, who, when they take measure from
people, take it in full, but when they give by measure or weight to them, cause
loss. Do they not think they will be resurrected?” (83:1–4)
A few verses later, the Qur’an explains that when God’s
revelations are recited to such people, they fail to recognise them as coming
from God—not because the revelations lack convincing arguments, but because
their hearts have become incapable of being influenced by them.
“When Our revelations are recited to them, they say:
‘These are the tales of the ancient peoples.’ Of course not! In fact, what they
have been doing has rusted their hearts.” (83:13–14)
It is concerning such people that the Qur’an says God does
not guide them because they have become deaf, dumb, and blind:
“God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, their
eyes are covered, and there is a grievous punishment for them.” (2:7)
“(They are) deaf, dumb, and blind; they will never return
to the right way.” (2:18)
There is a converse aspect to this process as well. If a
person remains sincerely committed to righteousness, God enables him to avoid
the disgrace of becoming entangled in evil.
The Qur’an tells us that Joseph (Yusuf, peace be upon
him) was rescued by God from a difficult situation because of his moral
integrity:
“And (with passion) did she desire him and he would have
desired her, had he not seen the evidence of his Lord. Thus (did We order) that
We turn away from him (all) evil and shameful deeds. For he was one of Our
servants, sincere and purified.” (12:24)
The principle that emerges is that if a person strives to
preserve the goodness of his God-given nature, God grants him further guidance
through His divine revelation (wahy). Conversely, if a person neglects
his good nature and persistently contaminates it through wrongdoing, his inner
nature becomes corrupted, making him less capable of appreciating the light of
God’s message.
The Qur’an explains this principle as follows:
“Whomever God wills to guide, He opens his chest to
Islam; and whomever He intends to misguide, He makes his chest narrow and
squeezes it so tight that he feels, at the very idea of Islam, as if his soul
is going to climb up towards the sky. That is how God places uncleanness on
those who do not want to believe.” (6:125)
vi. The Use of Intellect Is the Prime Condition for
Receiving Allah’s Guidance
The Qur’an says:
“Had your Lord willed, all the people of the earth would
have professed faith. Then, will you force people to become believers? [Fully
understand that] without God’s permission it is not possible for anyone to
profess faith [in a prophet]. [This permission is granted to those only who use
their intellect.] And God casts the filth of misguidance on those who do not
use their intellect.” (10:100)
It further says:
“Surely before God the worst of animals are those that
are deaf and dumb, who do not use [their] intellect.” (8:22)
The Qur’an also asks:
“So, do they not reflect on the Qur’an, or are their
hearts bolted?” (47:27)
Another passage describes the regret of those who will be
cast into Hell:
“When they are cast into it, they shall hear it roaring
and it shall be seething. It will seem as if it is bursting with rage. Every
time a multitude is cast into it, its keepers will ask: ‘Did no warner come to
you?’ ‘Yes, a warner did certainly come to us,’ they will reply, ‘but we
rejected him and said: “God has not sent down anything. You people are only in
grave error.”’ And they will say: ‘If only we had listened or used our
intellect, we would not have been among these dwellers of Hell today.’ In this
way, they will confess their sin; so, now cursed be these companions of Hell.’”
(67:7–11)
vii. Only God Guides
The Qur’an clearly states that only God grants guidance:
“O Prophet, you cannot give guidance to whom you wish; it
is God who gives guidance to whom He pleases, and He is quite aware of those
who deserve guidance.” (28:56)
viii. Bad Deeds (Munkaraat)
An important point emerges from the preceding discussion:
morally bad deeds (munkaraat) should not be avoided merely because they
may have serious consequences for a person’s accountability in the Hereafter.
They should also be avoided because indulging in them can corrupt one’s good
nature and thereby diminish one’s capacity to receive guidance.
The Qur’an therefore uses the expression “he wronged his
soul” when referring to people who knowingly commit sins.
Any evil act committed knowingly and not repented for after
its wrongfulness has been recognised is a munkar. Such an act is liable
to leave a stain on the heart.
Some of the prominent evils to avoid are polytheism (shirk),
murder, extramarital sex, obscenity, injustice, arrogance, lying, backbiting,
deceiving others, making fun of others, causing harm to others, entertaining
negative suspicions or thoughts about others, and resorting to black magic,
among others.
ix. A Relevant Qur’anic Passage
In light of the foregoing explanation of the law of
guidance, the following passage—and many others like it—should now be easier to
understand:
“This is a reminder: whosoever wills, let him take a
(straight) path to his Lord. But you cannot will except as God wills; for God
is full of knowledge and wisdom. He will admit to His mercy whom He wills; as
for the wrongdoers, for them He has prepared a grievous penalty.”
(76:29–31)
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Aamir Yazdani
MPhil (Islamic Thought & Civilization), Pakistan
MSc (Irrigation Engineering), UK
