astray. It should be noted that wherever idzlāl is attributed to God, it is only in connection with the transgressors,10 the unjust,11 and the extravagant,12 never for people generally. Idzlāl is the causative form of dzlāl, which means swerving from the straight path, and the word is applied to every swerving from the right path whether it is intentional or unintentional, and whether it is very small or very great; … wherefore it may be used of him who commits any mistake whatsoever (R.). According to the same authority, idzlāl is of two kinds. The first kind is that in which dzlāl (or going astray) is the cause of idzlāl. This again may be in two ways: (1) when a thing has itself gone astray from you, as you say, adzlaltu-l-ba’īra, the meaning of which is, I lost the camel not I led the camel astray, which is not true in this case; and (2) when you judge a person to be in error or going astray; and in both these cases going astray on the part of the object of idzlāl is the cause of idzlāl or leading astray. The second kind is that in which idzlāl or leading astray is the cause of the going astray of the object of idzlāl and it is in this way that you embellish evil to a man so that he may fall into it (R.). The word, as used in the Holy Qur’ān with reference to God means judging or finding one to be in error. This was a recognized use of the word among the Arabs. Thus in a verse of Ṭarfah, the words adzallanī ṣadīqī mean my friend judged me to be in error (LA.). And in a ḥadīth it is said that the Holy Prophet came to a people fa-adzalla-hum, i.e., he found them adopting a wrong course, not following the true path (N). Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr gives further examples showing that adzalla-hū means he found him in error just as aḥmadtu-hū means I found him in a praiseworthy condition, and abkhaltu-hū means I found him a niggard (N.). In fact, this sense of the word is recognized by all lexicologists. Explaining adzalla-hū, Lane says: “And he found him to be erring, straying … like as one says aḥmada-hū and abkhala-hū” (LL.), and this explanation is quoted from the Tāj al-‘Arūs.

Hence, since idzlāl cannot be applied to God in the sense of leading astray, and since it is always the transgressors and the extravagant whose idzlāl by God is spoken of, the only significance that can be attached to that word, in this case, is God’s judging them to be in error or finding them in error, or in some cases, God’s bringing them to destruction which is also an approved significance.