Surah Al Imran Tafseer

Allah Does Not Guide People Who Disbelieve After they Believed, Unless They Repent

Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Abbas said,

"A man from the Ansar embraced Islam, but later reverted and joined the polytheists. He later on became sorry and sent his people to, `Ask the Messenger of Allah for me, if I can repent.'

Then,

كَيْفَ يَهْدِي اللّهُ قَوْمًا كَفَرُواْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ

(How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief) until,

فَإِنَّ الله غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful), (3:86-89) was revealed and his people sent word to him and he re-embraced Islam."

This is the wording recorded by An-Nasa'i, Al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban.

Al-Hakim said, "Its chain is Sahih and they did not record it."

Allah's statement,

كَيْفَ يَهْدِي اللّهُ قَوْمًا كَفَرُواْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ وَشَهِدُواْ أَنَّ الرَّسُولَ حَقٌّ وَجَاءهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ

How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief and after they bore witness that the Messenger is true and after clear proofs came to them!

means, the proofs and evidences were established, testifying to the truth of what the Messenger was sent with. The truth was thus explained to them, but they reverted to the darkness of polytheism. Therefore, how can such people deserve guidance after they willingly leapt into utter blindness!

This is why Allah said,

وَاللّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ

And Allah guides not the people who are wrongdoers.

He then said,

أُوْلَـيِكَ جَزَاوُهُمْ أَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةَ اللّهِ وَالْمَليِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ