Does GOD Lead People Astray?
By Kashif Ahmed Shehzada

With the name of Allah, the Almighty, the Most Merciful

Introduction
This articles briefly presents a reply to the commonly held belief in many faiths that it is God (Allah) who has pre-determined the fate of people, and what ever good or bad happens to them in life is not a result of their own actions but was pre-written for them in their fate. If people are astray, then it is God to blame for that as well, according to this widely held notion in various Religions.

Some time ago we received the following question by e-mail, and it indicates that some people can arrive at this conclusion superficially reading some Quranic passages.

The questioner asked:

"It is stated in Surah 14:4: And we did not send any apostle but with the language of his people, so that he might explain to them clearly; then Allah makes whom he pleases err and he guides whom he pleases, and he is the mighty, wise.

He might be mighty, but what kind of God is it who leads us astray? He says he makes whom he pleases err. Is he making me err? Does that mean I will be held accountable for my err, or is the blame on Allah? Why would Allah make me err, and would I go to hell for being made to err? I don't understand?"

The following is a response to the above.

Do we have a free will to choose our line of action?

Many people observe the common used expression in the Quran, ie

14.4 ....Then ALLAH leaves to go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Mighty, the Wise.

And by just taking this portion they come to the conclusion that people do not have any free will of their own and rather, everything that they are doing is not a result of their own intention and choice but has been divinely ordained for them in their 'fate' or 'destiny', and no matter what they do, they can not change their 'destiny', and are helpless. However this is a result of a narrow minded approach towards the Quran and is a conclusion formed by just looking at a portion of the verse and not observing the other verses regarding this subject at other suras. First of all let us see what does the Quran say whether we have the free will to chose our line of action or is everything we do pre planned for us ?

The following verses inform us clearly about this matter;

18:29 Say: The truth is from your Lord : Let him who will believe and let him who will reject (it)

Above verse clearly states that, to accept or reject the truth rests on a persons free will.

76:4 We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.

73:19-Verily this is an Admonition: therefore whoso will let him take a (straight) path to his Lord!

25:57 Say: No reward do I ask of you for it but this: that each one who will may take a (straight) Path to his Lord.

The above verses clearly establish that human beings do have the free will to choose either way, or any path of action according to his own discretion. Allah further informs;

29:69 And those who strive in Our (cause) - We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily God is with those who do right.

Had our fate already been decided or sealed, Allah would have never mentioned that man is to strive in His cause, as it would have been meaningless to strive and struggle for something which has already been decided. Hence by informing that to strive in His cause we would be guided to His ways it is confirmed that it is our struggle and action that will lead us to the path and pleasure of Allah and not what has been pre destined for us in our 'fate'. We are further reminded:

39:7 If ye reject (Allah) Truly Allah hath no need of you; but he liketh not ingratitude from his servants: if ye are grateful He is pleased with you. No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. In the end to your Lord is your Return when He will tell you the truth of all that ye did (in this life). for He knoweth well all that is in (men's) hearts.

If our fate was already decided, Allah would have never said; "...but he liketh not ingratitude from his servants.." As it would not be fitting to say that a certain action is not liked by Allah when it is Allah himself who has written that action for man in that persons fate !

Again we are reminded that to take guidance of Allah rests upon a persons free will and choice, and he is not under any compulsion, but it is entirely up to him whether he chooses Allah's guidance or not. Allah informs us through His messenger:

80:11 By no means (should it be so)! For it is indeed a Message of instruction:

80:12 Therefore let whoso will keep it in remembrance.

Finally Allah in clear terms informs us that you have the freedom to act according to your choice, but your actions are under the supervision of Allah's laws of requital.

40:41 .......Do what ye will: verily He seeth (clearly) all that ye do.

Allah gives you the freedom to work as you will. The above verses are proof that you have the freedom of choice when it comes to selecting the path of Allah and you are not under any pre ordained compulsion or any state of helplessness that what ever you are doing is not because of your will but was already decided in your 'fate'. You very much have the freedom to chose the path you wish and use your free will in chalking out a line of action for yourself.

You have the free will and freedom of choice to work as you like, but every action you do produces a result.

Every action you do produces a result. An action consistent with the laws of Allah produces a good result and working against those laws produces a negative result.

You have been given the free will to chose as you wish, but it is not in your hands to change the results of the actions you did , i.e. you have the freedom to eat very dangerous toxic substance or poison, and as a result you can die. You did that act of your own free will, but it is not in the scope of your will to change the result of that action, i.e. it is not possible that you consume poison and as a result get very good health, instead of dying or harming your physical condition. Whatever law Allah has framed for that poisonous substance, you will get the results of that law. The type of act you do, that type of result you will get;

53.31 And Allah's is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, that He may reward those who do evil according to what they do, and (that) He may reward those who do good with goodness.

Every action and deed you do will be rewarded according to its nature;

45.22 And Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth and that every soul may be rewarded for what it has earned and they shall not be wronged.

If you do an act consistent or in consistent with the laws of Allah, you will get its result on your self. You cannot transfer the results of your wrong doings to anyone else. You have to pay for what you did. You have to carry your own weight Some other person can not be held accountable for what you did.

45.15 Whoever does good, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is against himself; then you shall be brought back to your-- Lord.

The type of results you get is not because Allah had already decided your fate and you had no say in it and were helpless. The results you get depend on the actions and deeds you do.

27:90 And if any do evil their faces will be thrown headlong into the Fire: "Do ye receive a reward other than that which ye have earned by your deeds?

37.38 Most surely you will taste the painful punishment.

37.39 And you shall not be rewarded except (for) what you did.

If your actions and deeds where not consistent to the laws and commandments of Allah, you will get the results for those deeds as Allah has ordained:

52:13 That Day shall they be thrust down to the Fire of Hell irresistibly.

52:14 This: it will be said: Is the Fire - which ye were wont to deny!

52:15 Is this then a fake or is it ye that do not see?

52:16 Burn ye therein: the same is it to you whether ye bear it with patience or not: Ye but receive the recompense of your (own) deeds.

If your actions were consistent and in accordance with Allah's laws you will get their results likewise;

52:17 As to the Righteous they will be in Gardens and in Happiness

52:18 Enjoying the (Bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them and their Lord shall deliver them from the Penalty of the Fire.

52:19 (To them will be said:) "Eat and drink ye with profit and health because of your deeds

Each and every action will be recompensed and rewarded. Whether it is done by a man or a woman:

3:196 So their Lord answered their prayers, saying, `I will suffer not the work of any worker from among you, whether male or female, to be lost. You are from one another....

You will most certainly be held accountable for the type of actions you chose to do, and the blame is definitely not on Allah.

7:147 I shall soon turn away from My Signs those who behave proudly in the land in an unjust manner; and even if they see all the Signs, they will not believe therein; and if they see the way of righteousness, they will not adapt it as their way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as their way. That is because they treated our signs as lies and were heedless of them.

7:148 And those who reject Our Signs and the meeting of the Hereafter - their works are vain. can they expect to be rewarded for anything except for what they do ?

If you chose to behave in the manner described in the above verse, then you will be turned away from the signs of Allah according to the law of Allah which is expressed as His will. You are to blame yourself for this as you chose to behave in this manner by your free will. It is you yourself who is responsible for the negative results you get for your actions and Allah is not to be blamed. He reminds in clear terms;

10:45 Certainly, Allah wrongs not men at all; it is they who wrong their own souls.

The following verses are more specific in informing that in case you do an act inconsistent with Allah's law because of that you will be held accountable, and it is not Allah who is to blame:

16:33 Do they wait until the angels come to them or there comes the Command of thy Lord ? So did those who went before them. But Allah wronged them not :nay they wronged their own souls.

16:34 But the evil results of their deeds overtook them and that very (Wrath) at which they had scoffed hemmed them in.

You are yourself responsible for your actions, and in case you do wrong then the blame is on you, not on Allah, as the verse reminds;

41.46 Whoever does good, it is for his own soul, and whoever does evil, it is against it; and your Lord is not in the least unjust to his servants.

The will of Allah expressed as His laws:

Allah has expressed His will as His laws. His laws are ordained and in action in the physical universe, i.e. in the phenomena of nature as well as in the form of His guidance for Mankind contained in Al-Quran, which governs human affairs, and which also is unchangeable and permanent. Now the will of Allah is expressed in the Quran, but Allah has given us the free will to either accept those laws and derive the benefit from them in this world as well as the next life. Or go against those laws and suffer the consequences again in this world as well as the next. On one hand the Quran gives us the description and results of following the commandments of Allah, while on the other it also describes what would be the consequences of going against them. Both ways, if we select the path of Allah, or reject it, the results have been defined. Remember, the will of Allah is manifested by His permanent laws in the physical universe as well as human affairs.

It is the law of Allah which is permanent and fixed, not the fate of mankind. If man follows the commands of Allah he will get the results as ordained in law, if he goes against them he will again get the results as in Allah's law. Man has been given the free will to select either way. Follow the commandments or go against them. In both ways the results will be produced accordingly, and those results cannot be changed. Now I'll give examples of this from general science as well as Quranic verses

Allah has ordained the law for fire that if we put our hand in it, our hand will get burned. The burning properties of fire are ordained as a law by Allah. It isn't possible that we put our hand in fire and get the result as if we had placed it in a cool place. Our burned hand will not get healed unless we treat it with medicine, and apply another law of Allah in the form of healing properties of the medicine. Putting our hand in the fire was an act which we committed by ourselves. It was our job to know and be aware that fire can burn, and in case we didn’t, then it is our own fault, and not the consequences of our fate.

Coming to the portion of the verse which is causing confusion:

14.4 ....Then ALLAH leaves to go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the Mighty, the Wise.

Now who are the people who are astray and what are their characteristics, this is abundantly clarified in the Quran at many places. Some verses that define those who are astray according to the law (will) of Allah are given below. Do note, if you have the qualities as mentioned in those verses then you are also astray according to Allah's laws.

Who are the people who are led astray according to the law of Allah?

(1) Those who are transgressors (fasiqoon):

2.26 Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable-- (that of) a gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their Lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that Allah means by this parable: He causes many to err by it and many He leads aright by it! but He does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors"

(2) Those who are take shayateen (satans) as friends and protectors:

7:30 Some He hath guided: Others have (by their choice) deserved the loss of their way; in that they took the devils in preference to God for their friends and protectors and think that they receive guidance.

22:4 About the (Evil One) it is decreed that whoever turns to him for friendship him will he lead astray and he will guide him to the Penalty of the Fire.

(3) Those who disobey Allah and His messenger:

33:36 .... and whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he surely STRAYS off a manifest straying.

(4) Those who are oppressors and are unjust (zalimun):

14.27 Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter, and Allah causes the unjust to go astray, and Allah does what He pleases.

(5) Those who do not use their faculties of reasoning and listening to analyze the message of Allah:

25.44 Or do you think that most of them do hear or use their reasoning? They are nothing but as cattle; nay, they are straying farther off from the path.

(6) Those who follow the opinions of their chiefs and great men instead of the message of Allah

33.67 And they shall say: O our Lord! surely we obeyed our leaders and our great men, so they led us astray from the path;

(7) Those who are blind and heedless to the message of Allah:

17:72 But those who were blind in this world will be blind in the hereafter and most astray from the Path.

(8) Those who follow the opinions of the people who are in a majority:

6.116 And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah's way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie.

(9) Those who follow their desires:

6.56 Say: I am forbidden to serve those whom you call upon besides Allah. Say: I do not follow your desires. for then indeed I should have gone astray and I should not be of those who go aright.

The above verses describe who are those people who are led astray. Anyone who has above mentioned qualities manifested in him (or her) is astray according to the law of Allah. Compare above with what Quran says about who are the people who will get Allah’s guidance? See these verses 39:18 , 13:27 , 6:125 etc.

Above verses are clear in establishing that man has the freedom of choice to select right or wrong in his life. He will be rewarded according to the type of actions he does. Allah is not to be blamed for his wrong doings but he is to blame himself. People are led astray not because Allah wants them to go astray but by choosing those qualities for themselves which Allah has termed to be of those who are astray from his path. Their free selection of those qualities e.g. transgression, disobedience, following desires, not using reasoning and intellect in ascertaining the truth etc is what is making them astray and not Allah.

Conclusion:

It will be apparent from engaging into a deep study of the Quran and by cross referencing its verses that it does not require belief in fatalism nor in predestination, but only in pre-measurement; that is to say the fixity of the laws and the intelligence to follow them. Human beings have the free will to follow whatever course of action that have decided to choose for themselves, however the results of their actions will be in accordance with the laws that have been measured for such actions. If they suffer, then it is because of their own choices, and they should not put the blame for their misgivings on Allah.