The fifth verse of Surah Fāṭir, the 35 Surah of Al Qur'an, is one such such verse that cautions man to not to be deluded by the worldly glitters and not to be deceived by the Big Deceiver. Who is this Big Deceiver or the Deluder that man has been cautioned about - let us find out through this selected verse of Al Qur'an:
The Verse (Surah Fāṭir 35:5)
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ
“O mankind! Surely the promise of Allah is true. So do not let the worldly life deceive you, and do not let the big Deceiver deceive you about Allah.”
Meaning of the Verse
Allah calls all humanity and gives two warnings:
- Do not let worldly life deceive you, like the comforts, wealth, entertainment, status, desires, false sense of security, thinking “life is long”, thinking “death is far”, thinking “Allah will not hold me accountable” - This “deception of dunya” blinds people from the Hereafter.
- And do not let al-Gharūr (the Great Deceiver (ٱلْغَرُورُ)) deceive you about Allah
Let us find out who is this Deceiver man is being cautioned about:
Who is “al-Gharūr” (ٱلْغَرُورُ)?
Although, the very plain translation gives a cue, yet let us hear its explanation from the classical scholars and exegetes of Al Qur'an:
- Ibn Kathīr: “Al-Gharūr is the Shayṭān.”
- Al-Tabari: “The deceiver is Satan who beautifies falsehood.”
- Qurtubi: “He is Iblīs. Anything else that misleads is from his whisper.”
- Razi: “The greatest deceiver is Satan, who deceives people about Allah’s mercy and punishment.”
Why is Satan called the Great Deceiver?
The question then arises why is Satan singled out and called the Great Deceiver and for what reason he has been labeled so by Allah. The plain and simple answer is because he deceives people about Allah, by prompting them to themes that create doubt in the human mind who is generally prone to entertainment, sin and easy life - these prompts could be many, some are listed below, reflect on the first and last of the listing:
- “Allah will forgive you, so sin without fear.”
- “You are too sinful, Allah will never forgive you.”
- “There is no resurrection.”
- “There is no punishment.”
- “Allah does not see what you do.”
- “You are guided… but in reality you are not.”
- “You have plenty of time to repent.”
These psychological prompts are the root of all sins.
Is this deceiver still around today?
this deceiver has been there to deceive the first off the humans, Prophet Adam and Eve, up in the heavens and yes, he is still around and will be there till this worldly life comes to an end on this earth. This has been mentioned in AL Qur'an at a number of places:
- Qur’an 7:16–17: “I will mislead them, tempt them, and deceive them from every direction.”
- Qur’an 15:36–38: The Lord said: "You are given respite until the appointed Day.”
This means: Satan is alive, active, whispering, misleading by beautifying sins, creating doubts, weakening faith, encouraging procrastination in repentance and promoting materialism.
Yes, he is still the “Great Deceiver” today — more than ever. Especially through: (1) distractions, (2) desires, (3) false ideologies, (4) arrogance, (4) hopelessness, (5) overconfidence, (6) misuse of technology, (7) addictions and (8) ego-driven conflicts
How Does Shayṭān Deceive People About Allah?
- By giving false hope - “Allah is Merciful — don’t worry, sin as you want!”
- By giving despair - “Your sins are too big. Allah will never forgive you.”
- By making dunya seem eternal - “Your goals can wait. Religion is for later.”
- By distracting with endless worldly pursuits - money, beauty, comfort, entertainment
- By promoting doubt - “Is there really a Hereafter? Is religion true?”
Remember: The deception is not always sin — sometimes it is complacency, delay, false confidence or procrastination.
Qur’anic Verses Connected to This Warning
Due his continued, Allah has warned man to be beware of his machination and enticements, for sometimes even the pious also fall prey to his enticements. Herein under are some references:
- 4:120 — Satan promises only deception - “Satan promises them nothing but delusion.”
- 2:268 — He deceives by fear of poverty - “Satan threatens you with poverty and commands immorality.”
- 7:22 — Satan deceived Adam and Hawwa - “So he deceived them with lies…”
- 74:31 — Those who are deceived doubt Allah’s warnings - “Thus Allah leaves astray whom He wills.”
All these verses confirm the warning in 35:5.
Hadith Evidence
Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم too has warned his companions about the game plan of the Satan, who may mislead and lead his victims to the nadir of morality. Herein under are some Hadiths:
- Shayṭān runs in humans “like blood” - The Prophet ﷺ said: “Satan circulates in the human body like blood.” — Bukhari, Muslim
- He is constantly whispering - “Shayṭān sits on the hearts of the children of Adam…” — Musnad Ahmad
- He works harder as the Day of Judgment nears - Meaning: He is absolutely active today.
Lessons for Our Times
the more the means of information through social media are expanding, there are more chances ever than before that the deceiving tactics of the Big Deceiver would reach more and more people and more likely chances of them falling prey to his evil game plan. At the same time, there is more awareness through the same information means on how to avert his machination and not to be deceived or distracted. So,
- Do not let dunya distract you from akhirah - Consumerism, materialism, entertainment, careers — all can deceive.
- Do not follow the whispers of the devil - Sin that seems “normal” is often Satan’s beautification.
- Beware of spiritual complacency, thinking: “I am already guided,” “I am better than others,” “I don’t need to change.” - is among the greatest of Satan’s deceptions.
- Beware of delaying repentance - Satan says: “You will repent later — enjoy now.”
- Beware of extremist doubt or exaggerated hope - Satan uses both extremes to mislead.
Summary
Surah 35:5 warns all humanity that Allah’s promise of Judgment is true. The worldly life tries to deceive people by making itself appear permanent and fulfilling. Al-Gharūr, the Great Deceiver, is Shayṭān, who misleads people specifically about Allah, His mercy, and His punishment. Yes, he is still fully active today until the Day of Resurrection. His goal is to divert humans from worship, morality, repentance, and remembrance of Allah.
Now that we know who the big deceiver is and how he deceives man to blur their thinking process and lead them half blind to a life which is but hallucination and misleading, therefore, we should always be on the alert to counter him with our unflinching trust in the Lord of the World, His Book, Al Qur'an, and warnings by the last of the prophets Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may like to read more selected verses from Sürah (35) Fāṭir “The Originator / The Creator” to understand the entire surah.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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