Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
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Muhammad Asad | | VERILY, thou canst not guide aright everyone whom thou lovest: but it is God who guides him that wills [to be guided]; and He is fully aware of all who would let themselves be guided. | ⇨ |
M. M. Pickthall | | Lo! thou (O Muhammad) guidest not whom thou lovest, but Allah guideth whom He will. And He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. | ⇨ |
Shakir | | Surely you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He pleases, and He knows best the followers of the right way. | ⇨ |
Yusuf Ali | | It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance. | ⇨ |
[Al-Muntakhab] | | You Muhammad shall not be able to guide to Allah's path whom you like or to whom you have special affection* but Allah guides to His path of righteousness whom He will and He knows best those who are willing to lift to Him their inward sight. | ⇨ |
[Progressive Muslims] | | You cannot guide whom you love. But it is God who guides whom He wills; and He is fully aware of those who receive the guidance. | ⇨ |
Abdel Haleem | | You [Prophet] cannot guide everyone you love to the truth; it is God who guides whoever He will: He knows best those who will follow guidance. | ⇨ |
Abdul Majid Daryabadi | | Verily thou shalt not guide whomsoever thou lovest, but Allah shall guide whomsoever He will. And He knoweth best who are the guided. | ⇨ |
Ahmed Ali | | That you do not guide whom you loved/liked, and but God guides whom He wills/wants, and He is more knowledgeable with (about) the guided. | ⇨ |
Aisha Bewley | | You cannot guide those you would like to but Allah guides those He wills. He has best knowledge of the guided. | ⇨ |
Ali Ünal | | You cannot guide to truth whomever you like but God guides whomever He wills. He knows best who are guided (and amenable to guidance). | ⇨ |
Ali Quli Qara'i | | You cannot guide whomever you wish, but [it is] Allah [who] guides whomever He wishes, and He knows best those who are guided. | ⇨ |
Amatul Rahman Omar | | (Prophet!) it is not possible for you to guide whomsoever you wish, but Allah guides whomsoever He will. He knows fully well those who would accept guidance. | ⇨ |
Hamid S. Aziz | | And when they hear vain talk, they turn away from it and say, "We have our works, and you have your works. Peace be upon you! We do not seek the ignorant." | ⇨ |
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali | | Surely you do not guide whomever you love, but Allah guides whomever He decides, and He knows best the ones (who are) rightly-guided. | ⇨ |
Muhammad Sarwar | | (Muhammad), you cannot guide whomever you love, but God guides whomever He wants and knows best those who seek guidance. | ⇨ |
Muhammad Taqi Usmani | | You cannot give guidance to whomsoever you wish, but Allah gives guidance to whomsoever He wills, and He best knows the ones who are on the right path. | ⇨ |
Shabbir Ahmed | | Verily, you cannot guide aright everyone you love, but it is Allah Who guides him who wishes to be guided. And He is best Aware of those who will be rightly guided. (2:272), (4:88), (10:99-100). | ⇨ |
Syed Vickar Ahamed | | It is true that you will not be able to guide everyone whom you love; But Allah guides those whom He will. And He knows best those who receive guidance. | ⇨ |
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International) | | Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. | ⇨ |
Farook Malik | | VERILY, thou canst not guide aright everyone whom thou lovest: but it is God who guides him that wills [to be guided]; [Or: "God guides whomever He wills" - either of these two renderings being syntactically correct. According to several extremely well authenticated Traditions, the above verse relates to the Prophet's inability to induce his dying uncle Abu Talib, whom he loved dearly and who had loved and protected him throughout his life, to renounce the pagan beliefs of his ancestors and to profess faith in God's oneness. Influenced by Abu Jahl and other Meccan chieftains, Abu Talib died professing, in his own words, "the creed of Abd al-Muttalib" (Bukhari) or, according to another version (quoted by Tabari), "the creed of my ancestors (al-ashyakh)". However, the Quranic statement "thou canst not guide aright everyone whom thou lovest" has undoubtedly a timeless import as well: It stresses the inadequacy of all human endeavours to "convert" any other person, however loving and loved, to one's own beliefs, or to prevent him from falling into what one regards as error, unless that person wills to be so guided.] and He is fully aware of all who would let themselves be guided. [The above rendering of the expression al-muhtadin conforms to the interpretations offered in this context by many classical commentators - e.g., "those who accept guidance" (Zamakhshari), "everyone who in time would find the right way" (Razi), "those who are prepared (mustaiddin) for it" (Baydawi), "all who deserve guidance" (lbn Kathir), and so forth. Thus, God's guidance is but the final act of His grace with which He rewards all who desire to be guided. For a further consideration of this problem, the reader is referred to Zamakhshari's illuminating remarks quoted in the note on 14:4.] | ⇨ |
