إِنَّ عَلَينا لَلهُدىٰ
Indeed upon Us rests guidance.
EXEGESIS
The preposition inna as well as the letter lām before al-hudā are both indicators of certainty and definitiveness.
The preposition ʿalā in ʿalaynā (upon us) indicates obligation and necessity and when used in the context of Allah, it refers to that which He has made obligatory upon Himself, for no entity can impose anything on Him. Others have opined that the verse is not apparent in obligation, but rather it is mentioning a divine custom or practice that Allah has adopted out of His mercy; this is not the same as a moral or philosophical obligation which is considered as evil if He was not to do it.
Al-hudā (guidance) has been mentioned in definite form through the preposition al and hence it would seem that the verse is talking about the genus of guidance and not a specific type of guidance, such as legislative or existential.
EXPOSITION
Guidance is a matter that Allah has taken upon Himself (16:9, 75:19), just as mercy is something that He has made incumbent upon Himself (6:12).
With regard to the link between this verse and the previous verses, some have suggested that this is the beginning of a new section in the chapter and there is no need to look for an immediate connection.
Others have opined that perhaps this is a response to a question that may come to the reader’s mind after reading the previous verses. One may wonder: how is it possible that Allah can leave an evil soul to itself to continue following its desires and continuously be stingy and thus not be able to protect itself once it falls into hellfire? Is this not against the mercy of Allah? The response, in this verse, would be that Allah has provided every being with the necessary guidance that they require. Existential guidance (al-hidāyah al-takwīniyyah) comes in the form of man’s primordial nature (fiṭrah) and legislative guidance comes through sending apostles. The stingy disbeliever however, refused to listen to both these sources and thus Allah has left him in his pathetic state.
Alternatively, this can be seen as a reason offered for why some people are eased into facility whilst others are eased into hardship. The reason is that all this is due to the guidance of God. Based on His infinite wisdom, He created mankind with a goal, and that is that they may grow in knowledge, power, and pleasure by worshipping Him and nothing less than Him (51:52, 42:52-53, 3:51). And He made it upon Himself to show them the path towards that growth, regardless of whether or not they traverse it (16:9, 33:4, 76:3). Those who traverse it are eased into facility and those who resist it are driven away into hardship.
It should be noted that when God states that guidance is upon Him alone, that does not mean that others may not be intermediaries in guidance. Rather, He appoints prophets and messengers and through them He guides mankind (42:52, 12:108). This is regarding the first level of guidance which is known as showing the path (irāʾat al-ṭarīq). The second level of guidance is known as taking to the destination (al-īṣāl ilā al-maṭlūb), which is the pleasant life (al-ḥayāt al-ṭayyibah) in this world and everlasting bliss in the hereafter; this is exclusively the domain of Allah for it is a matter related to creating. Once a person reaches the destination, there is no faltering or going back (20:123, 16:97, 4:122). If we consider this verse to be talking about the first level of guidance, then it is as if these verses themselves are being used as a means to inform us about the consequences of each of the two paths. And if the verse is referring to the second type of guidance, then facilitating ease or hardship is a way of making each reach its intended destination. Alternatively, the verse can be considered absolute and thus covers both types of guidance.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It has been reported from Imam al-Riḍā (a) when asked about this verse, that he replied: ‘Allah guides whomever He wishes and leads astray whomever He wishes.’ The narrator said: ‘May Allah give you good, a group from our companions claim that recognition (maʿrifah) is gained and were they to contemplate [about God] they would gain it.’ He rejected that and said: ‘So why is it that these people do not obtain goodness for themselves? There is not anyone except that he wishes to be better than the one who is better than him. [For example, look at] these Banī Hāshim, their position is their position and their familial relation, and they are more deserving of this matter than yourselves; do you suppose that they do not contemplate for themselves whilst you have gained recognition and they have not? Imam al-Baqir (a) has said: “If people had the capability, they would have loved us.”’
Note: This narration is an explanation of the second level of guidance discussed earlier. What can be understood from this narration is that some individuals were under the impression that to receive the second level of guidance, it is enough for one to ponder and contemplate over theological matters. The Imam, in light of this verse, seems to be emphasising that this is not the case and that type of guidance lies with Allah. The Imam mentions the case of some members of Banī Hāshim who apparently had not yet gained recognition of imamate even though they had a familial relationship with the Imam. The Imam asks the companion if he thinks the reason they have not reached this guidance is merely because they have not pondered over this matter; obviously, that is not the case, because guidance is in the hands of Allah. Individuals must carry out their duties but in the end it is His domain to dispense guidance based on what people deserve. This does not mean that Allah guides and misguides arbitrarily, but rather it is based on one’s actions, purity of soul, intentions, and suchlike that Allah decides whether to endow someone with His special guidance or not.
[1] Kashif, 7/575.
[2] Manahij, 30/530.
[3] Manahij, 30/527.
[4] Manahij, 30/526.
[5] Kashif, 7/575.
[6] Munyah, 30/407.
[7] Mizan, 30/304.
[8] Qurb, pp. 156-157.