Quran Universe
5:77

قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ لَا تَغۡلُواْ فِي دِينِكُمۡ غَيۡرَ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوٓاْ أَهۡوَآءَ قَوۡمٖ قَدۡ ضَلُّواْ مِن قَبۡلُ وَأَضَلُّواْ كَثِيرٗا وَضَلُّواْ عَن سَوَآءِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

Qul ya ahla alkitabi la taghloo fee deenikum ghayra alhaqqi wala tattabiAAoo ahwaa qawmin qad dalloo min qablu waadalloo katheeran wadalloo AAan sawai alssabeeli

Say, "O People of the Scripture, do not exceed limits in your religion beyond the truth and do not follow the inclinations of a people who had gone astray before and misled many and have strayed from the soundness of the way."

Word by word
  1. قُلۡSay
  2. يَـٰٓأَهۡلَO People
  3. ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ(of) the Book
  4. لَا(Do) not
  5. تَغۡلُواْexceed
  6. فِيin
  7. دِينِكُمۡyour religion
  8. غَيۡرَother than
  9. ٱلۡحَقِّthe truth
  10. وَلَاand (do) not
  11. تَتَّبِعُوٓاْfollow
  12. أَهۡوَآءَ(vain) desires
  13. قَوۡمٖ(of) a people
  14. قَدۡcertainly
  15. ضَلُّواْwho went astray
  16. مِنfrom
  17. قَبۡلُbefore
  18. وَأَضَلُّواْand they misled
  19. كَثِيرٗاmany
  20. وَضَلُّواْand they have strayed
  21. عَنfrom
  22. سَوَآءِ(the) right
  23. ٱلسَّبِيلِ[the] way
Al-Ma'idah · 5:77Madinah

Do not go past the truth in your religion.

Exaggeration, even in love, leads astray

How it drifted
a prophetto be honoured
praised beyond
the limitraised to a god
by following
earlier teachersastray, and misled many
The right size
more is more piousextra praise, extra rules
exactly the truthno more, no less

Ibn Kathir explains the warning as: do not exaggerate in praising the one you were told to honour. They raised a prophet to the rank of a god, because they followed teachers before them who went astray and misled many. The fix is to stay within the truth.

The online preacher you follow, whose every clip you share without checking. The relative who makes the religion so strict that the young people in the family quietly leave. Both add to the truth out of zeal. Love for the deen means keeping it the size Allah made it.

Going further than required can only be a good thing.

Going past the truth, even out of love, is still leaving the truth.

Try this

Before you share a religious clip today, check what the source is and whether it adds to what is known.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 5:76)

Say: "How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you? But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower. (76)Say: "O People of the Scripture! Exceed not the limits in your religion beyond the truth, and do not follow the vain desires of people who went astray before and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path. (77)

The Prohibition of Shirk (Polytheism) and Exaggeration in the Religion

Allah admonishes those who take up rivals with Him and worship the idols, monuments and false deities. Allah states that such false deities do not deserve any degree of Divinity. Allah said,

قُلْ 

(Say) O Muhammad, to those from among the Children of Adam, such as the Christians, who worship other than Allah,

أَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا

(How do you worship besides Allah something which has no power either to harm or to benefit you?) meaning, which cannot prevent harm for you nor bring about your benefit,

وَاللَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

(But it is Allah Who is the All-Hearer, All-Knower.) He hears what His servants say and has knowledge of all things. Therefore, how did you worship inanimate objects that do not hear, see or know anything - having no power to bring harm or benefit to themselves let alone others - instead of worshipping Allah? Allah then said,

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ

(Say: "O People of the Scipture! Exceed not the limits in your religion beyond the truth,)

Meaning: Do not exceed the limits concerning the truth and exaggeration in praising whom you were commanded to honor. You exaggerated in his case and elevated him from the rank of Prophet to the rank of a god. You did this with 'Isa, who was a Prophet, yet you claimed that he is god besides Allah. This error occurred because you followed your teachers, the advocates of misguidance who came before your time and who,

وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَن سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ

(...and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path,) deviated from the straight path, to the path of misguidance and deviation.