وَمِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَآ أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَبِهِۦ يَعْدِلُونَ 181
Translations
And among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice.
Transliteration
Wa mimman khalaqna ummatan yahdoona bil-haqqi wa bihi ya'diloona
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that among the creation of Allah, there exists a community (ummah) that guides by truth and establishes justice based on it. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret this as referring to the scholars and righteous believers of the Muslim ummah who are committed to spreading divine truth and ruling with equity. The ayah emphasizes that guidance (hidayah) and justice ('adl) are inseparable virtues rooted in adherence to divine revelation.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-A'raf, a Meccan chapter focused on fundamental Islamic principles and divine guidance. It occurs within a broader passage (7:176-181) discussing those who receive signs and knowledge, distinguishing between those who follow guidance and those who turn away. The context emphasizes the responsibility of those blessed with knowledge to use it for spreading truth and justice.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027), reflecting the concept of guiding by truth mentioned in this ayah. Additionally, the hadith 'Whosoever guides to goodness has a reward similar to that of its doer' (Sahih Muslim 1893) relates to the theme of those who lead others to truth.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that possessing knowledge of truth carries with it the sacred duty to guide others with integrity and to uphold justice in all affairs. It calls modern Muslims to recognize that true guidance is incomplete without accompanying it with fairness, equity, and honest application in daily life.
Related Ayahs
فَلَمَّا نَسُوا۟ مَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ أَنجَيْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلسُّوٓءِ وَأَخَذْنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ بِعَذَابٍۭ بَـِٔيسٍۭ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْسُقُونَ
And when they [i.e., those advised] forgot that by which they had been reminded, We saved those who had forbidden evil and seized those who wronged, with a wretched punishment, because they were defiantly disobeying.
فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِۦ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُۥ وَلَهُۥ يَسْجُدُونَ ۩
Indeed, those who are near your Lord [i.e., the angels] are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate.
ثُمَّ لَـَٔاتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَآئِلِهِمْ ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَـٰكِرِينَ
Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You]."