What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [O you who believe! Look to yourselves. No harm will come to you from those who go astray if you have guided yourselves]?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : What is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:105]?
The Shaykh : The meaning is that Allah urged the human being to save himself, and if he saves himself by fulfilling what Allah has made obligatory upon him, then the misguidance of those who go astray will not harm him. This does not mean that the verse abrogates the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood before the people and said: إنكم تقرءون هذه الآية وتنزلونها على غير ما أراد الله: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ وإني سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم يقول: إن الناس إذا رأوا المنكر فلم يغيروه أوشك أن يعمهم الله بعقابه You recite this verse and apply it to other than what Allah intended: O you who believe! Look to yourselves. No harm will come to you from those who go astray if you have guided yourselves. And I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: If people see an evil and do not change it, it is likely that Allah will encompass them with His punishment.. Therefore, the noble verse came with a restriction:[Al-Ma'idah 5:105]. And among the guidance is that you enjoin good and forbid evil.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : What is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted:
O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allah is you return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعاً فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَThe Shaykh : The meaning is that Allah urged the human being to save himself, and if he saves himself by fulfilling what Allah has made obligatory upon him, then the misguidance of those who go astray will not harm him. This does not mean that the verse abrogates the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, for Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood before the people and said: إنكم تقرءون هذه الآية وتنزلونها على غير ما أراد الله: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ وإني سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم يقول: إن الناس إذا رأوا المنكر فلم يغيروه أوشك أن يعمهم الله بعقابه You recite this verse and apply it to other than what Allah intended: O you who believe! Look to yourselves. No harm will come to you from those who go astray if you have guided yourselves. And I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: If people see an evil and do not change it, it is likely that Allah will encompass them with His punishment.. Therefore, the noble verse came with a restriction: