وَهَـٰذَا صِرَٰطُ رَبِّكَ مُسْتَقِيمًا ۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ 126
Translations
And this is the path of your Lord, [leading] straight. We have detailed the verses for a people who remember.
Transliteration
Wa-hādhā sirātu rabbika mustaqīmā; qad faṣṣalnā al-āyāti liqawmin yadhdhakkarūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that the straight path (sirāt al-mustaqīm) is the path of Allah, and that the signs and verses have been detailed and clarified for those who reflect and take heed. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, this refers to the complete guidance provided through the Qur'an, emphasizing that Allah has made the way to Him clear and unambiguous for those possessed of reason and reflection. The emphasis on detailed explanation (tafsīl) indicates that guidance is not hidden or obscure, but plainly laid out for the discerning believer.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-An'am, which discusses monotheism, the characteristics of idolaters, and the clarity of divine guidance. The surah addresses the polytheists of Mecca who rejected the clear signs of Allah, and this particular verse reinforces that the straight path has been made manifest through detailed divine communications.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad' (Jāmi' at-Tirmidhī). Additionally, 'Whoever seeks to follow a path other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him' (Sunan Ibn Mājah 3057), which relates to the concept of the one straight path emphasized here.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah has made His guidance abundantly clear through the Qur'an for those willing to reflect and listen; the responsibility rests upon us to consciously engage with these signs rather than dismissing them due to negligence or obstinacy. In our modern context, this reminds us that authentic guidance is readily accessible, and our spiritual blindness stems not from obscurity of the message but from our own unwillingness to contemplate and heed.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنْ هِىَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَبْعُوثِينَ
And they say, "There is none but our worldly life, and we will not be resurrected."
فَمَن يُرِدِ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُۥ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُۥ لِلْإِسْلَـٰمِ ۖ وَمَن يُرِدْ أَن يُضِلَّهُۥ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُۥ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَجْعَلُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرِّجْسَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
So whoever Allāh wants to guide - He expands his breast to [contain] Islām; and whoever He wants to send astray - He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allāh place defilement upon those who do not believe.
مَن جَآءَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا ۖ وَمَن جَآءَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَىٰٓ إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have ten times the like thereof [to his credit], and whoever comes with an evil deed will not be recompensed except the like thereof; and they will not be wronged.
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَٰتِ ٱلْمَوْتِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ بَاسِطُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمُ ۖ ٱلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allāh or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allāh revealed." And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], "Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allāh other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant."