Quran Universe
6:116

وَإِن تُطِعۡ أَكۡثَرَ مَن فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنۡ هُمۡ إِلَّا يَخۡرُصُونَ

Wain tutiAA akthara man fee alardi yudillooka AAan sabeeli Allahi in yattabiAAoona illa alththanna wain hum illa yakhrusoona

And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying.

Word by word
  1. وَإِنAnd if
  2. تُطِعۡyou obey
  3. أَكۡثَرَmost
  4. مَنof
  5. فِي(those) in
  6. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe earth
  7. يُضِلُّوكَthey will mislead you
  8. عَنfrom
  9. سَبِيلِ(the) way
  10. ٱللَّهِۚ(of) Allah
  11. إِنNot
  12. يَتَّبِعُونَthey follow
  13. إِلَّاexcept
  14. ٱلظَّنَّ[the] assumption
  15. وَإِنۡand not
  16. هُمۡthey (do)
  17. إِلَّاexcept
  18. يَخۡرُصُونَguess
Al-An'am · 6:116Makkah

Follow the majority and they will lead you astray.

Most people run on guesswork

What the crowd follows
most on earth
follow
assumptionwishful thinking
guessespresented as fact
What makes something right
everyone does itnumbers
Allah's wayeven if few walk it

In Makkah the believers were a small group surrounded by a large majority with old customs. Allah tells them if you obey most of those on earth, they will lead you astray. Ibn Kathir says they follow nothing but conjecture and wishful thinking, and doubt their own way.

Everyone at work rounds up their timesheets. Everyone in the family takes the loan. Everyone at the party drinks. A lot of people doing something is not proof. It is just a lot of people.

If most people do it, it cannot be that wrong.

The majority often runs on guesses. I follow what Allah made clear.

Try this

Pick one thing you do only because everyone does it. Ask honestly if Allah would approve.

Related37:7112:103
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah's path. They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but lie (116)Verily, your Lord! It is He Who knows best who strays from His way, and He knows best the rightly guided (117)

Most People are Misguided

Allah states that most of the people of the earth, are misguided. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَلَقَدْ ضَلَّ قَبْلَهُمْ أَكْثَرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

(And indeed most of the men of old went astray before them.)[37:71] and,

وَمَا أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And most of mankind will not believe even if you eagerly desire it.)[12:103]

They are misguided, yet they have doubts about their way, and they rely on wishful thinking and delusions.

إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ

(They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but lie.)

Thus, they fulfill Allah's decree and decision concerning them,

هُوَ أَعْلَمُ مَن يَضِلُّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ

(It is He Who knows best who strays from His way.) and facilitates that for him,

وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

(And He knows best the rightly guided.) He facilitates that for them, all of them are facilitated for what He created them.