Combining the negation of the Prophet's guidance and its affirmation in the Qur'an
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do you reconcile the saying of the Exalted,[Al-Qasas 28:56], with His saying, [Ash-Shuraa 42:52]?
Answer:
Yes. Guidance is of two types: guidance by indication and direction, and guidance by explanation. This is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) possesses, and every caller to Allah possesses it: guidance by indication, direction, and explanation. As for the guidance of the heart, this is not in the power of anyone but Allah.[Al-Qasas 28:56] The hearts are not guided by this; it is in the hand of Allah the Exalted. But you guide by explanation, calling, and direction, as He the Majestic and Exalted said: [Fussilat 41:17] [Fussilat 41:17], meaning: We guided them to the truth, but they did not accept it. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: How do you reconcile the saying of the Exalted,
Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُAnd indeed, [O Muhammad], you guide to a straight path -
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍAnswer:
Yes. Guidance is of two types: guidance by indication and direction, and guidance by explanation. This is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) possesses, and every caller to Allah possesses it: guidance by indication, direction, and explanation. As for the guidance of the heart, this is not in the power of anyone but Allah.
Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَAnd as for Thamud, We guided them
وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْWe guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance
فَهَدَيْنَاهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّوا الْعَمَىٰ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، بداية من قول المُصَنِّف : ومن علامات صحة القلب — islamhouse.com (1:00:16)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.