Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 16 An-Nahl, Ayat 93-93

وَلَوۡ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ لَجَـعَلَكُمۡ اُمَّةً وَّاحِدَةً وَّلٰـكِنۡ يُّضِلُّ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ وَيَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ​ ؕ وَلَـتُسۡـئَلُنَّ عَمَّا كُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿16:93﴾

(16:93) Had Allah so willed, He would have made you all one single community.93 However, He lets go astray whomsoever He wills and shows the Right Way to whomsoever He wills.94 Surely you shall be called to account regarding what you did.


Notes

93. This further supports the previous warning. It means that it would be wrong for any champion of Allah’s religion to arrogate to himself the use of every sort of method and means irrespective of whether they are right or wrong to propagate his own religion (considering it to be Allah’s religion) and try to destroy opposite religions. For this would be utterly against the will of Allah. If Allah had willed that there should be no religious differences, He could have deprived mankind of the freedom of choice. In that case, there would have been no need for Allah to get help of any such upholder of His religion, who uses disgraceful means for this purpose. Allah could have created all mankind to be inherent believers and obedient servants by depriving them of the power and option of disbelief and sin. Then there would have been none who could have dared to deviate from belief and obedience.

94. This is to show that Allah Himself has given man the power and freedom to follow any out of the many ways. That is why Allah makes arrangements for the guidance of the one who intends to follow the right way, and let go astray the one who desires to deviate.