ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ يَهْدِى بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ ۚ وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا۟ لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ 88
Translations
That is the guidance of Allāh by which He guides whomever He wills of His servants. But if they had associated others with Allāh, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.
Transliteration
Dhālika hudā Allāhi yahdī bihi man yashāʾu min ʿibādihi wa law ashrakū laḥabiṭa ʿanhum mā kānū yaʿmalūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that the guidance mentioned in the preceding verses—bestowed upon the prophets and righteous believers—is from Allah alone, and He grants it to whomever He wills from His servants. The second part serves as a stark warning: if those guided individuals were to commit shirk (associating partners with Allah), all their deeds would become nullified and without reward. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this demonstrates the absolute condition of monotheistic sincerity required for the acceptance of all righteous deeds, and that no amount of good works can compensate for shirk.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-An'am's discussion of the prophets and their guidance (verses 83-89). It concludes the section addressing the spiritual lineage of righteous believers from Adam through Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, emphasizing that their guidance was divinely granted. The surah, revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period, repeatedly confronts polytheistic practices and reaffirms strict monotheism as the foundation of all acceptable deeds.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever associates partners with Allah, it is as if he has built a house on the brink of a crumbling cliff that will collapse into the Fire' (related in meaning to Sahih Muslim and other collections). Additionally, Surah Al-Kahf 18:110 carries related meaning regarding the acceptance of deeds only through sincere monotheism.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that sincere monotheism is the prerequisite and foundation for all righteous actions—no amount of external good deeds holds value if coupled with the spiritual corruption of shirk. For believers today, it serves as a reminder that conscious intention and pure tawhid must accompany all acts of worship and obedience to Allah.