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Surah An-Noor 24:21

سُورَةُ النُّورِ“The Light”

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Qur'an 24:21

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa tattabi'oo khutuwaatish Shaitaan; wa many-yattabi' khutuwaatish Shaitaani fa innahoo yaamuru bilfahshaaa'i walmunkar; wa law laa fadlul laahi 'alaikum wa rahmatuhoo maa zakaa minkum min ahadin abadanw wa laakinnal laaha yuzakkee many-yashaaa'; wallaahu Samee'un 'Aleem

Translation

O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

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Tafsir of this Ayah Ibn Kathir

And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, and that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful (20)O you who believe! Follow not the Khutuwat of Shaytan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily, he commands Al-Fahsha' and the evil deeds. And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower (21)

A Reminder of the Grace of Allah and a Warning Against Following the Footsteps of Shaytan

Allah says:

وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, and that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful.) meaning, if it were not for this, it would have been another matter altogether, but He, may He be exalted, is full of kindness towards His servants and Merciful towards them. He accepts the repentance of those who repent to Him from this sin, and purifies those among them who are purified by the prescribed punishment carried out on them. Then Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ

(O you who believe! Follow not the Khutuwat of Shaytan.) meaning, his ways and paths and what he commands,

وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ

(And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily, he commands immorality and the evil deeds.) This is a warning given in the most concise and eloquent manner. 'Ali bin Abi Talhah recorded from Ibn 'Abbas that

خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ

(the Khutuwat of Shaytan) means his deeds. 'Ikrimah said that it means his evil whispers. Qatadah said: "Every sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan." Abu Mijlaz said: "Vowing to commit sin is one of the footsteps of Shaytan." Then Allah says:

وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا

(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins.) meaning, if He did not help whomever He wills to repent and come back to Him and be purified from Shirk, evil and sin, and whatever bad characteristics each person has according to his nature, no one would ever attain purity and goodness.

وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاءُ

(But Allah purifies whom He wills) means, among His creation, and He sends astray whomever He wills, leaving him to be doomed in his misguidance and sin.

وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ

(and Allah is All-Hearer,) means, He hears what His servants say,

عَلِيمٌ

(All-Knower.) of who deserves to be guided and who deserves to be misguided.