[2:166] Leaders and Followers: Whom Are the Leaders Following?

Author: Berk KÖKSAL
Date: October 27, 2026
Place: Mersin

The central purpose of this article is to contemplate 2:166 together with related verses, asking how Satan’s invitation can find its way into human relationships of authority, and what bearing witness to the oneness of GOD demands of us in knowledge, justice, truthfulness, and submission.

Peace. Peace be upon you.

When a person walks ahead of a community, we call that person a leader. They speak, decide, and point toward a destination. The larger the following, the more powerful the leader can appear. But another question has stayed with me: Whom is the person at the front following?

Could someone believe himself to be a leader while he is, in fact, following a promise, an ego, or an appealing deception? If so, the person standing before the crowd may not be the beginning of the chain. There may be another direction behind his direction. This is why I want to reflect especially on Satan’s place in the relationship between leaders and followers. Some verses describe him not merely as an unseen enemy, but as one whom people can take as a lord, whose expectations they fulfill and whose invitation they accept (4:119, 14:22, 16:63, 34:20).

I need to be careful with the expression “Satan’s puppets.” A puppet does not choose. The Quranic scenes in 14:22 and 34:21, however, emphasize the limits of Satan’s power over human beings. So I can use this image only as a warning about becoming a willing instrument of a deceptive invitation, not as a claim that human choice has vanished. The more disturbing possibility is that someone may sincerely feel independent while repeating the direction of a call he has accepted.

In The Steps of Satan, I asked whether great deviation always begins with one great leap. Here I am asking what happens when a person’s deviation becomes an invitation to others. At what point does a personal error become an authoritative instruction? And at what point do followers stop asking where the road actually leads?

Summary

2:166

إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتُّبِعُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا۟ وَرَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ ٱلْأَسْبَابُ

Those who were followed will disown those who followed them.* They will see the retribution, and all ties among them will be severed.

Takip edilenler, kendilerini takip edenleri sahiplenmeyecekler.* Onlar azabı görecekler ve aralarındaki bütün bağlar koparılacak.

Source: kuranteyit.com

14:22 — And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, “GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you; I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me. I have disbelieved in your idolizing me. The transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.”

16:63 — By GOD, we have sent (messengers) to communities before you, but the devil adorned their works in their eyes. Consequently, he is now their lord, and they have incurred a painful retribution.

34:21 — He never had any power over them. But we thus distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are doubtful about it.* Your Lord is in full control of all things.

36:60 — Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil? That he is your most ardent enemy?

36:61 — And that you shall worship Me alone? This is the right path.

1. Why Will Those Who Were Followed Disown Their Followers?

Verse

2:166

إِذْ تَبَرَّأَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتُّبِعُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوا۟ وَرَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ وَتَقَطَّعَتْ بِهِمُ ٱلْأَسْبَابُ

Those who were followed will disown those who followed them.* They will see the retribution, and all ties among them will be severed.

Takip edilenler, kendilerini takip edenleri sahiplenmeyecekler.* Onlar azabı görecekler ve aralarındaki bütün bağlar koparılacak.

Source: kuranteyit.com

2:167 — Those who followed will say, “If we can get another chance, we will disown them, as they have disowned us now.” GOD thus shows them the consequences of their works as nothing but remorse; they will never exit Hell.

Reflection on the Verse

What first arrests me in 2:166 is that the verse begins with those who were followed. People once stood together. They may have defended the same claims and drawn strength from belonging to the same side. Yet the verse describes a moment when the relationships that seemed to hold them together no longer protect them. In 2:167, followers wish for another chance so that they might disown the very people to whom they once attached themselves. The bond has become a source of remorse.

A leader can offer reassurance: follow this path, trust this judgment, remain with us. I am not claiming that every leader makes such promises. But 2:166 forces a limit upon every human relationship of allegiance. The existence of a bond is not evidence that the bond will stand when GOD’s judgment arrives. No human following can transfer the final responsibility of a person to someone else.

This brings the uncomfortable question back to me. Have I stopped examining a claim because someone I admire already examined it? Have I mistaken loyalty for evidence? And if the person I follow is also following another influence, where does my responsibility begin? This verse does not authorize me to pronounce the destiny of particular people living today. It does invite me to examine the foundations of my trust before those foundations are tested beyond repair.

Verse references: 2:166-167.

2. Satan’s Confession: An Invitation and a Response

Verse

14:22 — And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, “GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you; I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me. I have disbelieved in your idolizing me. The transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.”

Reflection on the Verse

The severed bonds of 2:166 become even more unsettling when I read 14:22. Here Satan speaks after judgment has been issued. He acknowledges his broken promise. He also describes a striking limit: he did not possess power over those he called; he invited them, and they responded.

I am used to hearing the phrase “I was misled” as a complete explanation. This verse refuses to let it become a complete excuse. Deception exists. The false promise exists. But a response exists too. The persuasive force of an invitation does not make my acceptance of it an event in which I took no part.

Does that mean every person who leads others astray is consciously working for Satan? No such universal conclusion follows from the verse. But the connection with 16:63 and 4:119 raises a serious possibility: a person can invite others toward a false authority while being a follower of that false authority himself. He is a leader in one relationship and a follower in another.

That is the only sense in which the image of a puppet helps me. Not a human body with every choice controlled from outside, but a person whose words and influence have become instruments of a direction he has embraced. Satan’s speech does not remove human responsibility. It exposes how dangerous it is to surrender that responsibility and later expect the deceiver to carry it.

Verse references: 14:22, 2:166, 16:63, 4:119.

3. Who Is the Lord of the One Who Appears to Lead?

Verse

16:63 — By GOD, we have sent (messengers) to communities before you, but the devil adorned their works in their eyes. Consequently, he is now their lord, and they have incurred a painful retribution.

4:119 — “I will mislead them, I will entice them, I will command them to (forbid the eating of certain meats by) marking the ears of livestock, and I will command them to distort the creation of GOD.” Anyone who accepts the devil as a lord, instead of GOD, has incurred a profound loss.

Reflection on the Verse

In 16:63, Satan adorns people’s works in their eyes and becomes their lord. In 4:119, taking him as a lord instead of GOD is described as profound loss. The question is deeper than a person’s public title or position. It asks whom the person has allowed to occupy the place of ultimate authority.

Someone may govern, teach, write, organize, or guide others without thereby becoming a follower of Satan. I cannot turn the mere possession of influence into an accusation. I have to ask about the direction of that influence. Does the person place his own judgment above the guidance of GOD? Does he knowingly defend an untruth for his own benefit? Does he demand an allegiance that leaves no room for conscience or verification? These are questions to investigate, not answers to impose without evidence.

The idea of adornment matters here. A wrong course need not introduce itself as wrong. It can be presented as wisdom, security, success, or even righteousness. The attractive form of a claim cannot establish its truth. A person walking at the front may still be going in the wrong direction. The important question is not simply who is leading, but what is leading them.

Verse references: 16:63, 4:119.

4. Satan’s Influence Is Not the Same as Compulsion

Verse

34:20 — Satan found them readily fulfilling his expectations. They followed him, except a few believers.

34:21 — He never had any power over them. But we thus distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are doubtful about it.* Your Lord is in full control of all things.

17:65 — “As for My servants, you have no power over them.” Your Lord suffices as an advocate.

Reflection on the Verse

These verses have to be held together. In 34:20, people follow Satan and fulfill his expectations. Immediately afterward, 34:21 says he had no power over them. Verse 17:65 places another boundary around his influence over GOD’s servants. Following someone, then, must not automatically be confused with being forced by that person.

This distinction prevents two different mistakes. One is exaggerating Satan’s power until human responsibility disappears. The other is treating deception as though it could never affect real decisions. The verses do speak of following him; they simply do not give that following the structure of absolute compulsion.

I can be influenced by admiration, fear, ambition, or the desire to belong. I can find another person’s confidence reassuring. Yet I cannot use those influences to claim that I never had to examine the direction of my choices. Equally, I must not imagine Satan’s influence as a rival sovereignty to GOD. The closing words of 34:21 restore that order: the Lord remains in full control of all things.

The practical question is therefore not how powerful I can imagine Satan to be. It is how seriously I take the choices that I still have to make before GOD.

Verse references: 34:20-21, 17:65, 14:22.

5. Asking a Leader to Save You When It Is Too Late

Verse

14:21 — When they all stand before GOD,* the followers will say to the leaders, “We used to follow you. Can you spare us even a little bit of GOD’s retribution?” They will say, “Had GOD guided us, we would have guided you. Now it is too late, whether we grieve or resort to patience, there is no exit for us.”

40:47 — As they argue in Hell, the followers will say to their leaders, “We used to be your followers, can you spare us any part of this Hell?”

40:48 — The leaders will say, “We are all in this together. GOD has judged among the people.”

Reflection on the Verse

The pain in these conversations lies in the request itself. Followers turn toward the people they once trusted and ask for relief, even a small amount of it. The answer offers no rescue. Leaders and followers find themselves sharing helplessness instead of protection.

A person may have authority in one part of my earthly life. They may make decisions, offer useful knowledge, or solve practical problems. But such abilities do not give them authority over GOD’s judgment. In 14:21 and 40:47-48, the gap between worldly influence and final accountability becomes impossible to ignore.

I read these scenes first as a challenge to my own loyalties, not as permission to assign living people to their places in the Hereafter. Does belonging to a group make me feel exempt from verifying what the group teaches? Do I expect a religious or public leader to bear a responsibility that is still mine? If my trust requires another human being to provide what only GOD can provide, I may already have misunderstood the relationship.

Verse references: 14:21, 40:47-48.

6. Scheming Night and Day: How Misleading Becomes a System

Verse

34:31 — Those who disbelieve have said, “We will not believe in this Quran, nor in the previous scriptures.” If you could only envision these transgressors when they stand before their Lord! They will argue with one another back and forth. The followers will tell their leaders, “If it were not for you, we would have been believers.”

34:32 — The leaders will say to those who followed them, “Are we the ones who diverted you from the guidance after it came to you? No; it is you who were wicked.”

34:33 — The followers will say to their leaders, “It was you who schemed night and day, then commanded us to be unappreciative of GOD, and to set up idols to rank with Him.” They will be ridden with remorse, when they see the retribution, for we will place shackles around the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they not justly requited for what they did?

Reflection on the Verse

The dispute in 34:31-33 refuses an easy account of blame. Followers accuse their leaders of having kept them from belief. The leaders answer by pointing back to the followers’ own wickedness after guidance had come. Then the followers speak of schemes carried out night and day, and commands to set up idols alongside GOD.

Two realities appear together. Organized misleading can be serious. And the people subjected to it are not presented as having no responsibility at all. The dialogue is painful precisely because neither accusation cancels the need for moral accounting.

The reference to scheming night and day makes me consider how repeated persuasion can shape what a community regards as normal. But I must not describe every plan, organization, or persuasive speaker as evil. The verse identifies the specific direction of the schemes: ingratitude toward GOD and the establishment of rival idols. That is a much more precise test than suspicion of every form of leadership.

Charisma, numbers, and certainty of tone may draw a crowd. None of them can establish a claim as true. What matters is what the claim asks people to believe, what it asks them to do, and to whom it ultimately directs their loyalty.

Verse references: 34:31-33.

7. “We Obeyed Our Masters and Leaders”

Verse

33:67 — They will also say, “Our Lord, we have obeyed our masters and leaders, but they led us astray.

33:68 — “Our Lord, give them double the retribution, and curse them a tremendous curse.”

Reflection on the Verse

The word that stops me here is obedience. It is often easier to receive a decision than to examine it. A leader can take away the immediate burden of uncertainty. Someone tells us what to do, and the world feels simpler. Yet these verses show how terribly wrong that simplicity can become when obedience serves deviation.

The followers in 33:67-68 say that their masters and leaders led them astray. I cannot conclude from this that all obedience is wrong. People cooperate, share responsibilities, and depend on trustworthy expertise. What these verses place under judgment is obedience within a relationship that has misled people.

So I want to ask not only, “Whom do I obey?” but also, “What would make me stop obeying?” A title does not relieve a person of the duty to recognize injustice or investigate a false claim. Nor can the leader’s dignity replace the listener’s conscience. Obedience that ceases to examine truth can become a convenient name for surrendering responsibility.

Verse references: 33:67-68, 4:135.

8. The Leader Who Misleads May Have Been Misled Himself

Verse

37:28 — They will say (to their leaders), “You used to come to us from the right side.”

37:29 — They will respond, “It is you who were not believers.

37:30 — “We never had any power over you; it is you who were wicked.

37:31 — “We justly incurred our Lord’s judgment; now we have to suffer.

37:32 — “We misled you, only because we were astray.”

Reflection on the Verse

One confession in this exchange changes the picture for me. In 37:32, those who misled others acknowledge that they themselves were astray. The person at the front may not be someone who independently discovered a direction. He may simply be repeating a direction that was wrong before it ever reached him.

That does not allow me to declare that every misleading leader knew exactly what he was doing. The night-and-day scheming of 34:33 and the admission in 37:32 present aspects of misleading that should not be flattened into one psychological explanation. A person may be convinced by his own error. Another may knowingly manipulate others. The verses do not give me a way to read every individual heart.

But they do leave me with a practical warning: confidence does not guarantee guidance. A person can be deeply certain and deeply mistaken. A group can be large and still follow the wrong course. My task is to examine where a claim leads, not merely how forcefully it is delivered.

Verse references: 37:28-32, 34:33.

9. Human and Jinn Devils: When Speech Is Beautiful but False

Verse

6:112 — We have permitted the enemies of every prophet—human and jinn devils—to inspire in each other fancy words, in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their fabrications.

6:121 — Do not eat from that upon which the name of GOD has not been mentioned, for it is an abomination. The devils inspire their allies to argue with you; if you obey them, you will be idol worshipers.*

Reflection on the Verse

Verse 6:112 describes human and jinn devils inspiring one another with fancy words in order to deceive. Misleading is therefore not portrayed only as a private whisper from an unseen being. A human being can also participate in producing and carrying deceptive speech. The distinction between beautiful language and true language becomes essential.

Verse 6:121 also speaks of devils inspiring their allies to argue, and warns of the danger of obeying them. This does not mean that every argument is devilish or that every human influence is corrupt. The warning concerns a particular allegiance that moves a person away from GOD’s command.

A well-constructed sentence can make me want to believe it. A confident voice can feel like evidence. A story that flatters my group can seem too comforting to question. None of these qualities establishes truthfulness. If I want to remain faithful to testimony, I must allow the content of a claim to be examined even when its presentation is compelling.

Verse references: 6:112, 6:121.

10. Satan’s Promise: The Illusion of a False Savior

Verse

4:117 — They even worship female gods besides Him; as a matter of fact, they only worship a rebellious devil.

4:118 — GOD has condemned him, and he said, “I will surely recruit a definite share of Your worshipers.*

4:119 — “I will mislead them, I will entice them, I will command them to (forbid the eating of certain meats by) marking the ears of livestock, and I will command them to distort the creation of GOD.” Anyone who accepts the devil as a lord, instead of GOD, has incurred a profound loss.

4:120 — He promises them and entices them; what the devil promises is no more than an illusion.

Reflection on the Verse

The sequence in 4:117-120 is striking. Satan speaks of recruiting, misleading, enticing, and commanding. Then the text describes his promises as illusion. This is not only about one isolated wrongdoing. It raises the possibility of an entire pattern of allegiance in which a person accepts the wrong lord and the wrong promise.

Read beside 14:22, the emptiness of the promise becomes even clearer. A promise is given, but the one who gave it ultimately disowns it. Trust can be misplaced just as actions can be misguided. The follower may discover too late that the assurance on which he built his choices had no power to deliver.

This makes me cautious when anyone offers an unconditional guarantee of salvation in exchange for personal loyalty. I cannot pronounce every such speaker an instrument of Satan; the verses do not provide grounds for that kind of sweeping verdict. But I can refuse to give any human being the authority to promise on GOD’s behalf what the text does not grant that person.

Verse references: 4:117-120, 14:21-22.

11. The Covenant: Whom Were We Told Not to Worship?

Verse

36:60 — Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil? That he is your most ardent enemy?

36:61 — And that you shall worship Me alone? This is the right path.

18:50 — We said to the angels, “Fall prostrate before Adam.” They fell prostrate, except Satan. He became a jinn, for he disobeyed the order of His Lord.* Will you choose him and his descendants as lords instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? What a miserable substitute!

Reflection on the Verse

The contrast in 36:60-61 is remarkably direct: do not worship the devil; worship GOD alone. Verse 18:50 questions choosing Satan and his descendants as lords in place of GOD. Following Satan is thus not presented merely as a minor failure of discipline. The matter reaches the center of monotheism.

When I hear the word worship, I first picture familiar acts or formulas. Yet 4:119 speaks about accepting Satan as a lord instead of GOD. That takes the question into the decisions by which authority is given a place in my life. Whose word am I treating as ultimate? What happens when the person I admire disagrees with the guidance I have received?

I should not equate every mistake with the same degree of worship or idolatry; that would go beyond what these particular verses establish. But I cannot ignore their warning about replacing GOD with another object of ultimate allegiance. In my earlier reflection on the covenant made with GOD, I asked what it means to remember the covenant. Here the issue becomes painfully practical: does my conduct reflect the allegiance I say I have?

Verse references: 36:60-61, 18:50, 4:119.

12. Following Satan’s Steps: How Small Acceptances Build a Direction

Verse

2:168 — O people, eat from the earth’s products all that is lawful and good, and do not follow the steps of Satan; he is your most ardent enemy.

2:169 — He only commands you to commit evil and vice, and to say about GOD what you do not know.

24:21 — O you who believe, do not follow the steps of Satan. Anyone who follows the steps of Satan, should know that he advocates evil and vice. If it were not for GOD’s grace towards you, and His mercy, none of you would have been purified. But GOD purifies whomever He wills. GOD is Hearer, Knower.

Reflection on the Verse

The language of steps matters. People do not normally arrive at a destination without taking a course. Verse 2:169 identifies a dangerous direction: evil, vice, and saying about GOD what one does not know. The third warning troubles me especially because a false religious claim can travel far beyond the person who first repeats it.

What I say I know about GOD may become something another person relies upon. It may influence decisions, relationships, or a person’s sense of what is permitted and forbidden. This creates a responsibility for anyone who writes, teaches, manages, or offers guidance. Sometimes the most truthful sentence is not an elaborate explanation but a simple admission: I do not know.

In The Steps of Satan, I asked how deviation develops. Here another dimension emerges: could my small unexamined concessions be forming a path for someone else as well as for me? That question does not mean every minor error must inevitably become a greater sin. It does mean that direction deserves attention before it becomes habit.

Verse references: 2:168-169, 24:21.

13. Being Convinced of Guidance While Being Led Astray

Verse

43:36 — Anyone who disregards the message of the Most Gracious, we appoint a devil to be his constant companion.*

43:37 — Such companions will divert them from the path, yet make them believe that they are guided.

43:38 — When he comes before us he will say, “Oh I wish you were as far from me as the two easts.* What a miserable companion!”

43:39 — It will not console you on that day, as transgressors, that both of you will share in the retribution.

Reflection on the Verse

The frightening detail in 43:37 is that a person can be diverted from the path and still believe he is guided. The danger is not only error. It is error accompanied by confidence. Once I believe I can no longer be mistaken, I may stop allowing the truth to question me.

The companionship in 43:36-39 moves toward regret. Reading it, I wonder how the company I keep can reinforce my own convictions. Is the repeated assurance of a community proof that we are right? Does my private feeling of certainty remove the need to test a claim against revelation? The verses give me no grounds to treat certainty of feeling as certainty of truth.

I once asked, Are We Samarians? That question returns here: in trying to direct others toward my own understanding, could I be the one who needs correction? Verse 43:37 sends me first toward humility about my own fallibility, rather than an eager search for people to label as misguided.

Verse references: 43:36-39.

14. Religious Authority and the Danger of Making Human Lords

Verse

9:31 — They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as lords,* instead of GOD. Others deified the Messiah, son of Mary. They were all commanded to worship only one god. There is no god except He. Be He glorified, high above having any partners.

9:34 — O you who believe, many religious leaders and preachers take the people’s money illicitly, and repel from the path of GOD. Those who hoard the gold and silver, and do not spend them in the cause of GOD, promise them a painful retribution.

4:59 — O you who believe, you shall obey GOD, and you shall obey the messenger, and those in charge among you. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to GOD and the messenger, if you do believe in GOD and the Last Day. This is better for you, and provides you with the best solution.

Reflection on the Verse

Verse 9:31 warns about taking religious leaders and scholars as lords instead of GOD. Verse 9:34 refers to many religious leaders and preachers who take money illicitly and turn people away from GOD’s path. The word “many” cannot be turned into “all.” Nor do these verses make learning from a teacher, respecting a scholar, or benefiting from expertise inherently wrong.

Verse 4:59 also requires a careful balance. It speaks of obeying those in charge while directing disputes back to GOD and the messenger. I therefore cannot use 9:31 to erase every relationship of responsibility or cooperation. The dividing line concerns the place given to a human being. One person may direct the listener back to revelation and welcome careful examination. Another may ask to be treated as a final, unquestionable authority. Love and respect for a teacher cannot make every claim of that teacher true.

In Who Are ‘Those in Charge Among You’ in 4:59?, I reflected on the boundary between entrusted responsibility and unrestricted authority. That boundary becomes especially sensitive in religious life. I do not want my own writings to become an authority that people feel forbidden to question. My work may point toward a verse. It cannot take ownership of that verse.

Verse references: 9:31, 9:34, 4:59.

15. Following Ancestors, Majorities, and the Familiar Voice

Verse

31:21 — When they are told, “Follow these revelations of GOD,” they say, “No, we follow only what we found our parents doing.” What if the devil is leading them to the agony of Hell?

6:116 — If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture; they only guess.

39:18 — They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom GOD has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

Reflection on the Verse

In 31:21, people prefer what they found their parents doing to the revelations presented to them. Verse 6:116 warns that following a majority can divert a person from GOD’s path when that majority follows conjecture. Leadership is not always embodied in a single commanding personality. Sometimes the leader is a habit inherited from family or an opinion repeated by the crowd.

These verses do not establish that everything learned from parents is false or that the majority must always be wrong. What they challenge is the idea that familiarity or numerical strength is sufficient proof of truth. Someone I love may be mistaken. I may be mistaken too. That possibility should not become unbearable.

Verse 39:18 gives a very different picture of following: examining words and then following the best. To examine is not to pretend that every claim is equally supported. It is to remain willing to distinguish, question, and correct. Years of being followed do not make me right. Being repeated by thousands of people does not make a statement true.

Verse references: 31:21, 6:116, 39:18.

16. Leadership Measured by Justice Rather Than Followers

Verse

38:26 — O David, we have made you a ruler on earth. Therefore, you shall judge among the people equitably, and do not follow your personal opinion, lest it diverts you from the way of GOD. Surely, those who stray off the way of GOD incur severe retribution for forgetting the Day of Reckoning.

4:135 — O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

49:6 — O you who believe, if a wicked person brings any news to you, you shall first investigate, lest you commit injustice towards some people, out of ignorance, then become sorry and remorseful for what you have done.

Reflection on the Verse

Verse 38:26 connects David’s position as a ruler with the command to judge equitably and not allow personal opinion to divert him from GOD’s way. Here is a necessary counterweight to the warnings about misleading leaders: authority is also described in terms of moral responsibility, not merely condemnation.

Verse 4:135 demands justice in testimony even when it turns against oneself or one’s relatives. Verse 49:6 requires investigation before acting on news that could bring injustice to others. Together, these verses make it difficult for me to evaluate leadership only by influence, power, or the size of a following. Justice becomes most meaningful precisely when it costs me something.

There is another trap here. I could become so eager to condemn “Satan’s puppets” that I abandon the fairness I claim to defend. Accusing someone without evidence, claiming to know a hidden intention, or exaggerating a mistake because I dislike the person could violate the demands of testimony. Criticizing a dangerous pattern is not permission to claim knowledge of every person’s heart.

I want to be firm where a verse is firm, and cautious where my knowledge ends. Before judging another person’s direction, I need to examine the report, my own reasons for believing it, and whether I am applying the same standard to myself.

Verse references: 38:26, 4:135, 49:6.

17. Looking at the Arabic Roots: Following, Inviting, and Authority

Verse

2:166 — Those who were followed will disown those who followed them.* They will see the retribution, and all ties among them will be severed.

14:22 — And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, “GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you; I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me. I have disbelieved in your idolizing me. The transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.”

Reflection on the Verse

Sometimes the relationship between words helps me notice the relationship between the people described by a verse. In 2:166, the language of those who follow and those who are followed is closely connected. In 14:22, the invitation and the response are distinctly stated. Roots do not offer a secret meaning that overrides a verse. They can, however, help me read its wording more attentively.

Following — ت ب ع (t-b-ʿ): The words describing followers and those followed in 2:166 are related forms built on the same root. The verse does not merely identify who went first and who came after; it describes the collapse of the relationship when retribution is seen. The shared root does not imply that the follower can hand over responsibility.

Disowning or clearing oneself from an association — ب ر أ (b-r-ʾ): The disowning described in 2:166 is connected with the form tabarraʾa. The verse depicts a rupture of the bond in which people had placed confidence. This lexical observation should not be expanded into unsupported claims about the precise psychological state of every individual in the scene.

Inviting — د ع و (d-ʿ-w) and responding — ج و ب (j-w-b): In 14:22, Satan’s invitation and the people’s response are expressed by different verbs. That distinction is central to the moral structure of the speech. The invitation matters; so does the response. The wording does not describe Satan as an irresistible ruler of human decisions.

Authority or power — س ل ط (s-l-ṭ): The form sultân in 14:22 matters when considering claims of power over others. Satan denies having such power over those who responded to him. This brings me back to a necessary limit: his influence cannot be placed on the same level as GOD’s sovereignty. The root supports attentive reading; it does not replace the verse’s explicit statement.

Verse references: 2:166, 14:22.

18. Other Claims

Verse

14:22 — And the devil will say, after the judgment had been issued, “GOD has promised you the truthful promise, and I promised you, but I broke my promise. I had no power over you; I simply invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Therefore, do not blame me, and blame only yourselves. My complaining cannot help you, nor can your complaining help me. I have disbelieved in your idolizing me. The transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.”

37:32 — “We misled you, only because we were astray.”

Reflection on the Verse

Some historical approaches may read the conversations between leaders and followers chiefly in relation to particular earlier communities and their authorities. Others may understand them as broad warnings about the human tendency to hand over judgment to influential people. The first approach emphasizes an original historical setting; the second emphasizes the continuing moral question. Neither approach, by itself, identifies which living individual belongs to a scene described in 2:166, 14:21, or 34:31-33. I therefore would not use either to assign a person’s final destiny.

Some traditional accounts can leave the impression that Satan almost compels people. Other approaches risk making his influence sound insignificant. I find both extremes difficult to reconcile without further care with 14:22, where invitation, acceptance, and responsibility all remain present. Verse 37:32 adds another detail: those who misled others admit they were themselves astray.

The word leader may be applied narrowly to political rulers or more broadly to religious authorities, teachers, and influential figures. Either reading must remain cautious about inward motives. Such approaches can be considered without turning them into new revelations, and without allowing them to override the direct warnings about taking human lords in 9:31 or judging justly in 38:26.

Verse references: 14:22, 37:32, 2:166, 14:21, 34:31-33, 9:31, 38:26.

19. Conclusion: Does Being in Front Mean One Is Not Following?

Verse

36:60 — Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil? That he is your most ardent enemy?

36:61 — And that you shall worship Me alone? This is the right path.

39:18 — They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom GOD has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

Reflection on the Verse

I began by looking at a person walking behind a leader. Now the question has changed. Whom is the person at the front following within himself? Why are the others following him? These are not questions I can ask only about strangers or opponents. I too trust people, learn from people, and carry opinions that might influence others.

Verse 2:166 describes the severing of bonds between those who were followed and those who followed them. Verse 14:22 tells us that Satan broke his promise after inviting people who then accepted his invitation. Verses 34:20-21 acknowledge that people followed him without giving him coercive power over them. Verse 9:31 warns against making religious leaders into lords. Verses 38:26 and 4:135 bring the issue back to equitable judgment and truthful testimony.

That is why Satan’s role as a misleading leader should make me examine the possibility that a person who appears to lead others may himself be following deception. If I speak of a “puppet,” I mean someone who has allowed his choices and influence to serve a false call, not someone whose freedom and responsibility have disappeared. I cannot make the final judgment about another person’s heart or destiny.

The standard I want to apply to myself is simple, though not always easy: do not accept a statement merely because of the status of the speaker. Do not make any human being a lord in GOD’s place. Do not claim to know what GOD has not taught me. Verify before accusing. Remain just even to a person whose ideas I oppose. And if someone benefits from my words, let that benefit lead them toward guidance, not dependence on me (2:169, 4:135, 39:18).

Being in front of a crowd is not proof that one is walking toward the right destination. Sometimes courage may mean stepping away from a crowd whose direction has become wrong. The contrast in 36:60-61 leaves no need for a human savior at the center: not worshiping Satan, but worshiping GOD alone.

Verse references: 36:60-61, 39:18, 2:166, 14:22, 34:20-21, 9:31, 38:26, 4:135, 2:169.

Note

2:32 — They said, “Be You glorified, we have no knowledge, except that which You have taught us. You are the Omniscient, Most Wise.”

GOD knows best.

Source: kuranteyit.com