Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:9

"And upon Allah is the [determination of the] straight path..."

The intended meaning of "the path" (al-sabīl) is the genus (the category of paths). For this reason, He attributed "straightness" (al-qaṣd) to it and said: "And among them are those that deviate."

Al-qaṣd is a verbal noun used in the sense of the active participle (al-qāṣid). It is said: "a straight path" (sabīl qaṣd and qāṣid), meaning: upright, as if it aims directly toward the destination the traveler intends, without deviating from it.

The meaning of His saying, "And upon Allah is the [determination of the] straight path," is that guiding to the path that leads to the Truth is incumbent upon Him, just as He said: "Indeed, upon Us is the guidance" (Al-Layl: 12).

If you ask: Why did the style of speech change in His saying, "And among them are those that deviate"?

I reply: So that it may be known which of the two paths may be attributed to Him and which may not. If the matter were as the Mujbira (determinists) claim, it would have been said: "And upon Allah is the straight path, and upon Him is the deviating one," or "And upon Him is the deviation."

'Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud) recited: "And among you are those who deviate," meaning: Among you are those who deviate from the straight path by their own evil choice, and Allah is free from it.

"And if He had willed, He would have guided you all"—by force and compulsion.

"It is He who sends down rain from the sky; from it is drink, and from it is vegetation in which you pasture [your livestock]. He causes to grow for you thereby the crops, olives, palm trees, grapevines, and from all the fruits. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought."