يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

O you who have faith! Do not follow in Satan’s steps. Whoever follows in Satan’s steps [should know that] he indeed prompts [you to commit] indecent acts and wrong. Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you, not one of you would ever be pure. But Allah purifies whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing.

EXEGESIS

Khuṭuwāt (steps) is the plural of khuṭwah, which literally means the distance between two feet when one takes a step.[1]

Faḥshāʾ (indecent acts) is used for every grotesquely indecent act.[2]

Munkar (wrong) is that which a healthy intellect and pure heart will understand as reprehensible and wrong.[3] It is also said to be that which the shariah condemns,[4] but the former is more apparent, unless we wish to say that the shariah condemns that which the healthy intellect condemns.

Zakā (be pure) and yuzakkī (purifies) both derive from the same root and they mean to be pure and to purify from sins and shortcomings.[5] Literally, any increase or gain which is the result of divine blessing is zakāh. So, for example, it can be said of a good yield of crop, zakā al-zarʿ (the crop has yielded well).[6]

EXPOSITION

After the verses related to the event of ifk, the Quran now turns its attention towards general lessons from what has been said up to here in the surah. Specifically, with regard to ifk they remind the Muslims that their behaviour and their part in spreading the rumours was following in the steps of Satan, and if it were not for the mercy of God, they would never be forgiven. While these of course relate to that event as well, they are more general in their purport.

O you who have faith! Do not follow in Satan’s steps: the one who is taking steps towards something is traveling with a purpose towards a specific goal. The goal of Satan is of course rebellion against God and His command.[7] The steps of Satan are hence those which gradually take one from the permissible (ḥalāl) to the impermissible (ḥarām).[8]

Looked at generally, it is an exhortation to the believers to draw a lesson from the event of ifk and to realise how quickly following satanic influence can snowball and cascade into huge sins that can tear at the fabric of society.

Steps is also an apt expression, as it entails the idea of graduality. The influence of Satan is similar, for he gradually and step-by-step pulls man towards perdition. The event of ifk is a great example of that, as one rumour slowly spread to overtake the entire city, and those who engaged in it were blinded by their habit of spreading rumours and slandering. This is exactly the modus operandi of Satan, who relies on people becoming accustomed to sin and then gradually ramps it up.

Whoever follows in Satan’s steps [should know that] he indeed prompts [you to commit] indecent acts and wrong: this should be understood in the context of the surah’s main theme and in contrast to the central verse of light (verse 35) where God declares that He is the guiding light of all creation, guiding each being towards the purpose that He has intended for it. Satan’s self-imposed mission is to pervert that guidance and to deviate man from the purpose for which man was created. As Satan himself declares: and I will prompt them to alter Allah’s creation (4:119), meaning he will try and cause man to deviate from that purpose for which God created him. To follow in the steps of Satan then is to depart from God’s light and path, a decision which carries with it difficult and painful consequences.

It is said that the difference between indecent acts and wrong ones is that indecent acts refer to sins committed in secret and wrong refers to sins openly committed.[9] Everyone knows the reprehensibility of indecent acts and therefore they attempt to hide it, whilst many may openly engage in wrong acts and not try to hide it, like we are told in the verse, They would not forbid one another from the wrongs (munkar) that they committed. Surely, evil is what they had been doing (5:79). In other words, lying is a wrong act, but not an indecent act. So some might engage in lying, and not hide it. Whereas something like zināʾ is an indecent act and the persons engaged in that would attempt to hide it from others.

Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you: as discussed, this means: Were it not for God constantly sending down reminders and guiding you to that which is good;[10] or that His grace and mercy is giving the chance to repent and learn from mistakes.[11]

We may also here speak briefly regarding the repetition of the term law lā (Were it not), which appears seven times in the surah, initially appearing in verse 10, and then the beginning of verses 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, and here in the middle of verse 21.[12] This usage of anaphora adds rhythm to the passages and makes them stand out more, as well as binding them into a cohesive section. This is the fourth and final repetition of this specific exhortation in the surah (and the seventh law lā). Two of the previous exhortations (verses 10 and 20) relied on omission to deliver the implicit message; this one does so explicitly (as did verse 14) in what follows.

The repetition of the statement also acts as a lamentation, lambasting the Muslim community for their poor conduct and reminding them that they should have been kinder towards each other, just like God reminds them in verses 10 and 20 of His kindness to them. If God wished, He could have destroyed the Muslims for their sins or at the very least brought down great calamities, as is mentioned in verse 14. However, God forgives them and continues to grant them the blessings of His mercy. The believers are expected to show similar magnanimous conduct towards each other as well, an example of which is mentioned soon in the next verse.

Not one of you would ever be pure: similar to verse 14, God reminds mankind that it is only by His grace and mercy that the believers can be forgiven and can correct their mistakes and improve. This is evidence that no one would ever be a righteous believer were it not for the mercy and grace of God, not even the prophets or Imams.[13] God is the source of all purity. Reason, as well as the Quran, tells us that all good comes from God: all good is in Your hand (3:26), and Whatever good befalls you is from Allah (4:79).[14]

This is contrary to Satan, who wishes to take mankind down a path of destruction and evil, while God guides them to purification.[15] Hence, the matter of spiritual purity is of course opposed by Satan’s enmity to mankind, for it was Satan who in his hubris and self-appointed righteousness refused prostration to Prophet Adam (a) and declared his enmity to him, thinking himself better and superior. God reminds here that purity is something that is not achieved by any means other than submission to God and His grace. Those who due to foolish pride claim purity and superiority for themselves are the furthest from it.

But Allah purifies whomever He wishes: He purifies them by guiding them through His grace to those actions which instil purity in them,[16] and by accepting their repentance, and by purifying their hearts.[17] It has been said that this guidance can either be through revelation and divine legislation (tashrīʿī) or through His never-ending grace on those who seek Him and turn to Him (takwīnī): Allah chooses for Himself whomever He wishes and He guides to Himself whomever returns penitently (42:13).

It goes without saying that the wish of God is not arbitrary, but that He wishes to guide those who seek to be guided,[18] As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways (29:69).

And Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing: considering the context, this might mean God hears what Satan whispers in the hearts of man (114:5) and knows even what man’s heart whispers to itself (50:16).

Furthermore, He hears the supplication of the one who beseeches Him for purity, and knows who has prepared himself to undergo purification.[19]  

Interestingly, the first of these exhortations – Were it not for Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you – ended with the declaration that Allah is all-clement, all-wise (verse 10), the second with that Allah is all-kind, all-merciful (verse 20), and this one with the attributes of all-hearing, all-knowing. These six attributes should be considered in the light of the surah’s main theme of God’s ‘clear command’ which guides the community of believers towards righteousness and order. Despite the enormity of the sin committed, and God being fully aware of that, throughout the verses God is emphasising His mercy, His kindness, His forgiveness, and His wisdom which will guide the community of believers. He has not emphasised His power, His punishment, or wrath. This conveys that God knows the believers will make mistakes, what is important is that once the reminder from God comes, they should abandon the path of Satan and adopt the path of God.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever passes along something about another believer, wishing to humiliate and dishonour them thereby in order to reduce their standing amongst the people, God will bring him out of His guardianship (wilāyah) and place him under the guardianship of Satan, but even Satan will not accept him.’[20]

Note: As we explained earlier, the mission of Satan is to try and cause man to deviate from the divine path and to take him out of God’s light and guardianship. The one who chooses to follow Satan has then effectively removed himself from God’s guardianship and brought himself into the guardianship of Satan. However, Satan is not a guardian that will actually care for and look after those under his stewardship, nor is he even capable of that. Rather, he will abandon them to their demise, like Satan, when he prompts man to renounce faith, then, when he renounces faith, he says: ‘Indeed I am absolved of you. Indeed I fear Allah, the Lord of all the worlds’ (59:16).

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

It has been reported that ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd was of the opinion that anytime the Quran uses the concept of purification (tazkiyah), it has the meaning of al-islām.[21] This opinion is only acceptable if we understand al-islām in the sense of submission to God, not if we simply understand it to mean professing Islam. Yes, purification is impossible if it is not about submitting to God.

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.[22]
2. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.[23]
3. Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man? … Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?[24]
4. Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.[25]
5. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to take credit for anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.[26]

[1] Tibyan, 2/71; Muhit, 9/320; Mizan, 1/417.
[2] Tibyan, 7/420; Muhit, 9/320.
[3] Muhit, 8/24; Munyah, 19/90.
[4] Muhit, 9/320.
[5] See for example Munyah, 19/91.
[6] Raghib, p. 380.
[7] Mizan, 1/417.

[9] Nemuneh, 11/370.
[10] See Tabrisi, 7/210.
[11] Muhit, 9/320.
[12] Of these, four are followed by Allah’s grace and His mercy upon you, and are meant as exhortations, whilst the three that do not have that are meant as criticisms. This same exhortation also appears in 2:64.
[13] Qaraati, 6/161. See also Tibyan, 7/421.
[14] Mizan, 15/93.
[15] Tibyan, 7/421.
[16] Tabrisi, 7/210.
[17] Muhit, 9/320; Tantawi, 10/101.
[18] Nemuneh, 14/413.
[19] Mizan, 15/94. See also Tantawi, 10/101.
[20] Kafi, 2/358.
[21] Tabari, 18/81.
[22] 2 Corinthians 10:18.
[23] Ephesians 2:8.
[24] Proverbs 20:6-9.
[25] Proverbs 27:2.
[26] 2 Corinthians 3:5.