Surah Nur >> Currently viewing Surah Nur Ayat 21 (24:21)

Surah Nur Ayat 21 in Arabic Text

۞يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعۡ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِۚ وَلَوۡلَا فَضۡلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَرَحۡمَتُهُۥ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنۡ أَحَدٍ أَبَدٗا وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَآءُۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٞ
Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa tattabi’oo khutuwaatish Shaitaan; wa many-yattabi’ khutuwaatish Shaitaani fa innahoo yaamuru bilfahshaaa’i walmunkar; wa law laa fadlul laahi ‘alaikum wa rahmatuhoo maa zakaa minkum min ahadin abadanw wa laakinnal laaha yuzakkee many-yashaaa’; wallaahu Samee’un ‘Aleem

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 21

Sahih International
O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan – indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have been pure, ever, but Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

Yusuf Ali
O ye who believe! follow not Satan’s footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong: and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure: but Allah doth purify whom He pleases: and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).

Abul Ala Maududi
O Believers, do not follow in Satan’s footsteps, for he will incite to indecency and wickedness any who will follow him. If Allah had not shown His Brace and mercy to you, none of you would have been able to cleanse yourself, for it is Allah alone Who cleanses whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Muhsin Khan
O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan), then, verily he commands Al-Fahsha’ [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.)], and Al-Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam, etc.)]. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

Pickthall
O ye who believe! Follow not the footsteps of the devil. Unto whomsoever followeth the footsteps of the devil, lo! he commandeth filthiness and wrong. Had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy unto you, not one of you would ever have grown pure. But Allah causeth whom He will to grow. And Allah is Hearer, Knower.

Dr. Ghali
O you who have believed, do not ever follow the steps of Ash-Shaytan, (The ever-vicious, i.e., the Devil) and whoever ever follows the steps of Ash-Shaytan, then surely he commands obscenity and malfeasance. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah upon you and His mercy, in no way would any of you have been cleansed at all; but Allah cleanses whomever He decides, and Allah is EverHearing, Ever-Knowing.

Abdel Haleem
Believers, do not follow in Satan’s footsteps- if you do so, he will urge you to indecency and evil. If it were not for God’s bounty and mercy towards you, not one of you would ever have attained purity. God purifies whoever He will: God is all hearing, all seeing.

Muhammad Junagarhi
ایمان والو! شیطان کے قدم بقدم نہ چلو۔ جو شخص شیطانی قدموں کی پیروی کرے تو وه تو بےحیائی اور برے کاموں کا ہی حکم کرے گا۔ اور اگر اللہ تعالیٰ کا فضل وکرم تم پر نہ ہوتا تو تم میں سے کوئی کبھی بھی پاک صاف نہ ہوتا۔ لیکن اللہ تعالی جسے پاک کرنا چاہے، کر دیتا ہے۔ اور اللہ سب سننے واﻻ سب جاننے واﻻ ہے

Quran 24 Verse 21 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Nur ayat 21, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(24:21) Believers! Do not follow in Satan’s footsteps. Let him who follows in Satan’s footsteps (remember that) Satan bids people to indecency and evil. Were it not for Allah’s Bounty and His Mercy unto you, not one of you would have ever attained purity.[18] But Allah enables whomsoever He wills to attain purity. Allah is All- Hearing, All-Knowing.[19]


18. Satan is bent upon involving you in all kinds of pollutions and indecencies. Had it not been for the mercy and kindness of Allah Who enables you to differentiate between good and evil and helps you to educate and reform yourselves, you would not have been able to lead a pure and virtuous life on the strength of your own faculties and initiative alone.

19. It is Allah’s will alone which decides whom to make pious and virtuous. His decisions are not arbitrary but based on knowledge. He alone knows who is anxious to live a life of virtue and who is attracted towards a life of sin. Allah hears a person’s most secret talk, and is aware of everything that passes in his mind. It is on the basis of this direct knowledge that Allah decides whom to bless with piety and virtue and whom to ignore.

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah An-Nur verse 21 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nur ayat 20 which provides the complete commentary from verse 20 through 21.

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surah an-nur ayat 21
surah an-nur ayat 22
surah an-nur ayat 23
surah an-nur ayat 24
surah an-nur ayat 25

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