قُل هٰذِهِ سَبيلي أَدعو إِلَى اللَّهِ ۚ عَلىٰ بَصيرَةٍ أَنا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَني ۖ وَسُبحانَ اللَّهِ وَما أَنا مِنَ المُشرِكينَ

Say: ‘This is my way. I summon to Allah with insight – I and he who follows me. Immaculate is Allah, and I am not one of the polytheists.’

EXEGESIS

Sabīl (way) is said to be both feminine and masculine,[1] which is why the feminine hādhihī (this) can refer to it. Others have said that although sabīl could be referred to by both feminine and masculine pronouns, hādhihī here is referring to an implied daՙwah, the call for others to follow the path of Islam.[2]

Baṣīrah (insight) is from the verb baṣara (to see), whose infinitive baṣīrah (pl. baṣāʾir) not only suggests ‘to see’, but also to comprehend and grasp. Unlike similar words such as ruʾyah and naẓar, the term baṣīrah carries the meaning of ‘looking with knowledge and insight’. It implies perspicacity, discernment, perception. It is the opposite of an empty gaze or heedless sight (7:198, 10:43). Baṣar (pl. abṣār) as well, is at times defined as insight or deep perception but it too is understood as mere physical looking when contrasted with baṣīrah. The faithful who have gained profound spiritual realisations and deep insights are called ahl al-baṣīrah (people of insight) or ulū al-abṣār (3:13, 24:44, 59:2), whereas most people, and especially the wrongdoers, only gain baṣīrah in the hereafter (32:12, 52:15, 68:5).

EXPOSITION

Say: ‘This is my way’: after the Almighty mentioned that pure faith in Him and sincere devotion to His oneness are rare attainments – and that this is the unequivocal truth evidenced by the signs in the heavens and earth – He commands His Prophet to clarify to them that his path consists of calling to this oneness with clear insight.[3]

I summon to Allah: the declaration This is my way constitutes His proclamation of the path, while I summon to Allah with insight elucidates the nature of this path, an emphasis of what was mentioned earlier (You do not ask them any reward for it (verse 104)). The Prophet called people to God, not to himself or for himself.[4]

With insight: insight (baṣīrah) is the knowledge which equips one to differentiate between right and wrong.[5] The essence of this call, both in principle and practice, is the invitation to God based on knowledge, rational proofs, and sound logic. This divine summons has always been pursued through wisdom (ḥikmah), compassionate exhortation, intellectual engagement, countering falsehood with decisive evidence, and confronting erroneous ideas with irrefutable reasoning.[6] More than that though, as we discussed, higher levels of insight will grant the person an understanding of the true reality of matters.

I and he who follows me: this phrase may refer either to the act of summoning to God (me and my followers call people to God), or to the quality of having insight (me and my followers are possessed of insight).[7] While the former is the more popular understanding, the two meanings are not mutually exclusive and the verse may indeed encompass both dimensions. While the main duty of the call to religion was upon the Prophet, anyone who follows in that path and has been granted insight into it should also invite others to it. The verse then is not only evidence of the value of calling others to religion, but also that this is a specific duty for the scholars of religion,[8] as outlined in verse 9:122.

What is evident is that this designation does not apply universally to all who professed belief alongside the Prophet, particularly given God’s critique in preceding verses regarding the impurity of most believers’ faith. Rather, this distinction is reserved for those possessing essential qualities of sincere faith (īmān khāliṣ), unshakable certainty (yaqīn), spiritual insight (baṣīrah), and consistent action upon their knowledge.[9] While some scholars have advocated for an inclusive interpretation of the verse encompassing all Muslims,[10] the Quranic concept of being ‘with’ the Prophet or ‘following him’ carries a specialised meaning not attributed indiscriminately. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and those who are with him (maʿahu) are hard against the faithless and merciful amongst themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in worship], seeking Allah’s grace and [His] pleasure. Their mark is [visible] on their faces from the effect of prostration (48:29) – it is obvious that the description of this verse is not something that can be attributed to every single Muslim.

Immaculate is Allah is the translation of subḥān allāh. There is a conjunctive wāw before subḥān allāh in the verse which is lost in the translation. The more accurate translation is: I summon to Allah with insight – I and he who follows me, and Immaculate is Allah, and I am not one of the polytheists. As such, the phrase subḥān allāh serves as both a divine glorification and a rhetorical device within the verse. It functions as an interjection that emphatically declares God’s absolute transcendence (tanzīh) above all forms of polytheism, while bridging the statements before and after it. This structure reinforces the theological core of the message that just as the Prophet’s call originates from God’s oneness, so too must human understanding of it be rooted in His perfection. In other words, the conjunctive wāw intertwines the flow of discourse with an abrupt reminder of divine perfection. This linguistic technique mirrors broader Quranic patterns where abrupt divine praises disrupt linear narration to recentre the reader on God’s attributes, not merely for the purpose of praise, but as negation of all that contradicts His absolute unity.

And I am not one of the polytheists: this declaration represents far more than a simple disavowal as it constitutes the essential foundation for attaining true spiritual insight (baṣīrah). Such understanding only emerges through complete submission to pure monotheism (tawḥīd), which requires both positive affirmation of God’s absolute oneness and rigorous rejection of all forms of polytheism, whether overt idolatry or subtle manifestations such as attributing ultimate causality to natural laws or seeking fulfilment in creation rather than the Creator. Insight is not gained except by embracing the true meaning of tawḥīd and turning away from polytheism in all its forms and aspects, to see the truth of God in all things and how everything is submitted to Him and dependent on His will.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Sallām ibn Mustanīr, that Imam al-Bāqir (a) said regarding Say: ‘This is my way. I summon to Allah with insight – I and he who follows me,’ that: ‘It intends the Messenger of God – blessings be upon him and his family – and the Commander of the Faithful – peace be upon him – and the appointed successors (awṣiyāʾ) that came after them.’[11]
2. From Abū al-Bakhtarī, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Indeed the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, for the prophets did not leave behind a dirham or a dinar as inheritance; rather, they left behind traditions from their teachings. Whoever takes anything from that has taken a great share. So, be mindful from whom you take this knowledge of yours, for among us, the Ahl al-Bayt, in every generation, there are just individuals who repel the distortions of extremists, the fabrications of false claimants, and the misinterpretations of the ignorant.’[12]
3. From Ibrāhīm ibn Hāshim, that Ali ibn Ḥassān said to Imam al-Jawād (a): ‘Master, people complain about your young age.’ The Imam replied: ‘And why should they complain? Did God – mighty and glorious – not say to His Prophet, This is my way. I summon to Allah with insight – I and he who follows me? By God, he was followed [initially] by none other than Ali – peace be upon him – and he was only nine years old, and I am nine years old.’[13]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some exegetes have pointed to this verse as evidence that any religious effort should be based on knowledge, insight, and clear evidence.[14]

[1] Tibyan, 6/205; Zamakhshari, 2/508.
[2] Tabrisi, 5/411; Tabari, 13/52; Thalabi, 5/263.
[3] Mizan, 11/277.
[4] See also Qaraati, 4/302.
[5] Tibyan, 6/205.
[6] Kashif, 4/367.
[7] Thalabi, 5/263.
[8] See also Tabrisi, 5/411-412.
[9] Mizan, 11/277-278.
[10] Such as Nemuneh, 10/96.
[11] Kafi, 1/425; Manaqib, 3/486; Nur, 2/476.
[12] Basair, pp. 30-31; Kafi, 1/32; Wasail, 27/78, h. 33247.
[13] Kafi, 1/384; Nur, 2/476.
[14] Tabrisi, 5/412; Razi, 18/520.