Fourthly – The View of Ahl al-Bayt (as) on Guidance and Misguidance:
رابعا ـ رأي أهل البيت عليهمالسلام في الهداية والضلالة :
اختلف العلماء اختلافا شديدا فيما جاء في كتاب الله الكريم من الآيات التي يمكن أن يستظهر منها الإنسان إسناد الهداية والضلالة إلى الله تعالى ، نحو قوله تعالى : (وَلَوْ شاءَ اللهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً وَلكِنْ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشاءُ وَلَتُسْئَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ). [٨]
Fourthly – The View of Ahl al-Bayt (as) on Guidance and Misguidance:
Scholars have differed intensely regarding the verses in the Noble Qur’an from which one may infer the attribution of guidance (الهداية) and misguidance (الضلالة) to Allah تعالى — such as His saying: (وَلَوْ شاءَ اللهُ لَجَعَلَكُمْ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً وَلكِنْ يُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشاءُ وَلَتُسْئَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ) “And if Allah had pleased He would have made you a single nation, but He causes to stray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and most certainly you will be questioned as to what you did.” (Surah al-Naḥl, 16:93 – M. H. Shakir)
This raises theological debates around divine will, human agency, and responsibility — especially how to reconcile God's omnipotence with human accountability. The Imams from Ahl al-Bayt عليهمالسلام have a particular stance on this issue, which avoids both extremes: absolute determinism and complete autonomy. Their view, rooted in the Qur’an and Prophetic teachings, maintains both divine sovereignty and human moral responsibility.
[١]صحيح البخاري ١ : ٢٣٠ / ٣١ ، صحيح مسلم ١ : ١٦٣ / ٢٩٩.
[٢]الإبانة : ٢١!
[٣]القيامة ٧٥ : ٢٠ ـ ٢٣.
[٤]شرح التجريد للقوشجي : ٣٣٤.
[٥]النّساء ٤ : ٨٠.
[٦]الفتح ٤٨ : ١٠.
[٧]التوحيد : ١١٧ / ٢١.
[٨]النّحل ١٦ : ٩٣.
صفحه: 26 | Page : 26
وقوله تعالى : (وَما أَرْسَلْنا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلاَّ بِلِسانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ فَيُضِلُّ اللهُ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ). [١]
فأخذ جمع من علماء المسلمين بظاهر هذه الآيات مبتورة عن الآيات الأخرى التي تكمل بمجموعها دلالة هذه الطائفة من الآيات ، وحكموا بحتمية الهداية والضلالة في حياة الإنسان من جانب الله تعالى ، ونفوا دور الإنسان في اختيار الهداية والضلالة ، انطلاقا من هذه الطائفة من الآيات.
And His saying, the Most High: (وَما أَرْسَلْنا مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلاَّ بِلِسانِ قَوْمِهِ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ فَيُضِلُّ اللهُ مَنْ يَشاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ) “And We did not send any messenger but with the language of his people, so that he might explain to them clearly; then Allah makes whom He pleases go astray and He guides whom He pleases; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (Surah Ibrāhīm, 14:4 – M. H. Shakir)
A group among Muslim scholars took the apparent (ظاهري) meaning of such verses — severed from the rest of the Qur’anic verses that clarify and complete their implications — and thereby concluded that guidance and misguidance are strictly predetermined by Allah, denying the human role in choosing either path. This interpretation suggests a determinist view, implying that man has no volition in accepting guidance or falling into misguidance, based solely on the divine will.
However, such an interpretation neglects the totality and coherence of the Qur’anic discourse, which elsewhere emphasizes human responsibility and the conditions upon which divine guidance or misguidance is based — such as intention, effort, sincerity, and receptivity to truth.
وقد خالف أهل البيت عليهمالسلام هذا الاتجاه من التفسير والرأي ، وقالوا : إن الله تعالى هو مصدر الهداية في حياة الإنسان ، وأما الضلالة فمن الإنسان نفسه ، وعلى كل حال فإن الهداية والضلالة تجري في حياة الإنسان باختياره وقراره ، ونفوا بشكل قاطع حتمية الهداية والضلالة في حياة الإنسان بإرادة الله تعالى.
The Ahl al-Bayt (عليهمالسلام) opposed this interpretation and viewpoint. They stated that Allah سبحانه وتعالى is indeed the source of guidance in a person’s life; however, misguidance originates from the person himself. In every case, guidance and misguidance occur in human life through choice and personal decision.
They categorically rejected the notion that guidance or misguidance is predestined or inevitable due to Allah’s will alone, without regard for human agency. Rather, they affirmed that man is responsible for his path, and divine guidance or deprivation thereof follows based on man's own will, conduct, and openness to truth.
عن جابر بن يزيد الجعفي ، عن أبي جعفر محمد بن علي الباقر عليهالسلام ، قال : سألته عن معنى (لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله).
فقال : «معناه : لا حول لنا عن معصية الله إلا بعون الله ، ولا قوة لنا على طاعة الله إلا بتوفيق الله عز وجل». [٢]
From Jābir ibn Yazīd al-Juʿfī, from Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Bāqir (عليهالسلام), he said: I asked him about the meaning of "لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ". He said: “Its meaning is: We have no power to avoid disobeying Allah except through the help of Allah, and we have no strength to obey Allah except through the success granted by Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”
عن محمد بن أبي عمير ، عن أبي عبد الله الفراء ، عن محمد بن مسلم ومحمد بن مروان ، عن أبي عبدالله عليهالسلام ، قال : «ما علم رسول الله صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم أن جبرئيل من قبل الله عز وجل إلا بالتوفيق». [٣]
From Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Farrāʾ, from Muḥammad ibn Muslim and Muḥammad ibn Marwān, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (عليهالسلام), he said: “The Messenger of Allah صلىاللهعليهوآلهوسلم did not know that Jibrā’īl was from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, except through divine success (tawfīq).”
عن حمدان بن سليمان النيسابوري ، قال : سألت علي بن موسى الرضا عليهالسلام بنيسابور عن قول الله عز وجل : (فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلامِ). [٤] قال : «من يرد الله أن يهديه بإيمانه في الدنيا إلى جنته ودار كرامته في الآخرة يشرح صدره للتسليم لله ، والثقة به ، والسكون إلى ما وعده من ثوابه حتى يطمئن إليه ومن يرد أن يضله عن جنته ودار كرامته في الآخرة لكفره به وعصيانه له في الدنيا ، يجعل صدره ضيقا حرجا حتى يشك في كفره ، ويضطرب من اعتقاده قلبه ، حتى يصير كأنما يصعد في السماء ، كذلك يجعل الله الرجس على الذين لا يؤمنون». [٥]
From Ḥamdān ibn Sulaymān al-Naysābūrī, he said: I asked ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā (عليهالسلام) in Naysābūr about the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "(So whoever Allah desires to guide, He opens his heart to Islam…)" [al-Anʿām 6:125].
He (عليهالسلام) said: “Whoever Allah wills to guide by his faith in this world to His Paradise and the abode of His honor in the hereafter, He opens his heart for submission to Allah, and trust in Him, and repose in what He has promised of reward until he attains tranquility therein. And whoever He wills to misguide from His Paradise and the abode of His honor in the hereafter due to his disbelief in Him and disobedience to Him in this world, He makes his chest tight and constricted until he doubts in his disbelief and his heart becomes confused in belief, until he becomes as though he were ascending into the sky. Thus does Allah place abomination upon those who do not believe.”