shall none but the guilty led us astray” (26:99). “And they say: Our Lord, we only obeyed our leaders and our great men, so they led us astray from the path. Our Lord, give them a double chastisement and curse them with a great curse” (33:67, 68). “And those who disbelieve will say: Our Lord, show us those who led us astray from among the jinn and the men that we may trample them under our feet, so that they may be of the lowest” (41:29).

If God had really led men astray, their best excuse on the Day of Judgment would have been that they did not deserve to be punished, because it was God Himself Who led them astray. But not once is that excuse advanced, and it is always the guilty leaders, both from among men and jinn, who are denounced by the followers as having misled them. This is another conclusive argument that it is not God Who leads men astray.

In the third place, the Holy Qur’ān is full of statements to the effect that God sends His prophets and grants revelation for the guidance of the people. The general rule laid down with regard to Divine dealing with humanity is thus made clear in the very beginning. “Surely there will come to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:38). It is impossible that God, Who is so solicitous for the guidance of man, should Himself lead him astray. Guiding and leading astray are two contradictions which could not be gathered together in one being. The Holy Qur’ān itself draws attention to this point: “And it is not (attributable to) Allāh that He should lead a people astray after He has guided them, so far so that He makes clear to them what they should guard against” (9:115). The argument is evident. The Being Who sends guidance to a people could not lead them astray; how, then, could it be ascribed to God that He makes men fall into evil when He sends His messengers to explain to people that they should guard against evil?

Idzlāl as ascribed to God

The mistaken idea that God leads people astray arises out of a misconception of the meaning of the word idzlāl when it is ascribed to God. The word idzlāl carries a variety of meanings besides leading