7:178

Salaam all,

Man yahdi Allahu fahuwa almuhtadee waman yudlil faolaika humu alkhasiroona

The Aya says:
Whoever Allah guides then he is the guided one and whoever Allah misguides then those are the losers.

My personal note

The word Muhtadee I translated as the guided but there is complexity to the form of the word. The word has a form that suggests one or two meanings or both at the same time:
1- Self guided
2- Guided for self sake

So, the guidance is for the sake of the person who receives but he or she also has to seek guidance to receive. This is also the understandings of Muslim scholars is that Hod is not haphazard in who He guides and who He misguides. He guides the the one that sincerely starts moving towards him and misguides the one who moves away or at least starts moving away. Also, it is the understanding of Muslim scholars is that the prime beneficiary of guidance is the person himself or herself. May Allah make us always open to hearing and following his message and to receive His guidance.

The other point that scholars bring about is that the person who receives guidance is in the singular while the misguided are plural. Some scholars point out that the path of guidance is one. It may be a wide path that accepts some diversity but is one path, while the paths of misguidance are many.

Translation of the transliterated words:

Man: who/ whomever
Yahdi: he guides
Note: YAHDI is derived from the root H-D-Y and it means gift in all it’s forms and it carries the meaning of guidance since guidance is a gift. YAHDI is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of guiding is happening or will be happening by the subject (Allah).
Allahu: Allah
Fahuwa: then he
Almuhtadee: the guided one/ the one who gets guided
Note: the root is root H-D-Y and it means gift in all it’s forms and it carries the meaning of guidance since guidance is a gift. ALMUHTADEE is the person who is guided. It also carries with it that the person may be self guided or seeking to guide oneself.
Waman: and whoever
Yudlil: he misguides/ he causes to get lost
Note: the root is Dhad-L-L and it means getting lost as in lost the path or road in concrete terminology. Conceptually, it is used for any form of loosing the path, whether it is the path to a location or to the truth, or to be correct spiritually and so on. The imagery is very strong since loosing the path in the desert can mean near certain death. YUDLIL is an action that is happening or will be happening. It means: the action of causing the object (MAN= who) to get lost is happening or will be happening by the subject (third person singular)
Faolaika: then those
Humu: they
alkhasiroona: the loosers/ the defeated

Note: the root is KH-S-R and it means to lose or become defeated. KHASIROON are the loosrs and the defeated.

Salaam all and have a great day.

Hussein