أَوَمَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَـٰهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُۥ نُورًا يَمْشِى بِهِۦ فِى ٱلنَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُۥ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ 122
Translations
And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom? Thus it has been made pleasing to the disbelievers that which they were doing.
Transliteration
Awamman kana maytan fa-ahyaynahu wa-jaAAalna lahu nuran yamshee bihi fee an-nasi kamman mathalu hu fee adh-dhulumati laysa bikharijon minha; kadhalika zuyyina lilkafireena ma kanoo yaAAmaloon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah uses a powerful metaphor comparing the believer who receives guidance (spiritual life and light) to the disbeliever who remains in spiritual darkness and ignorance. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret 'death' as spiritual death through ignorance and disbelief, while the 'light' refers to the Qur'an, faith, and knowledge that enables the guided person to walk among people with certainty. The ayah emphasizes that the two conditions—guidance and misguidance—are incomparable, and concludes that disbelievers' deeds are made attractive to them by their delusion, preventing them from recognizing truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-An'am's broader theme of monotheism versus idolatry and the contrast between believers and disbelievers. While no specific asbab al-nuzul is recorded for this particular verse, it addresses the fundamental spiritual reality that guides the entire surah: the stark difference in conditions between those who accept divine guidance and those who reject it.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The example of the one who recites the Qur'an and acts upon it is like an orange which tastes good and smells good.' (Sahih Bukhari). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim regarding 'guidance being light and misguidance being darkness' directly resonates with this ayah's central metaphor.
Themes
Key Lesson
The ayah teaches that true life comes through accepting divine guidance and the light of faith, not through material existence alone, and reminds us that disbelievers remain trapped in spiritual darkness because their falsehoods are made attractive to them. For modern readers, this serves as an urgent call to seek authentic knowledge, guidance, and light from the Qur'an, and to recognize that without it, one remains spiritually dead despite outward activity.