and to lay his case before the taghut whom Allah has commanded His believing servants to repudiate; yet Satan wishes to lead those who take their disputes to the taghut away from the path of guidance and truth, driving them far from it. When such people are summoned to have their case judged by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, they turn away in arrogant self-satisfaction. What, then, will become of them—what will they do—when disasters strike, and they find themselves in need of the Messenger’s help so that he may pray for them and resolve their problems? They will come to him offering excuses, saying that by turning elsewhere for judgment they never meant to oppose him at all; they only sought to reconcile the parties and bring people together. In this way they put forward these empty pretexts to justify their deed once it is laid bare.

Lessons derived from the verses:

1. It is obligatory to seek judgment according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, to be content with that, and to submit to it.
2. Whoever refers a dispute to anything other than the Islamic law is not a believer and is no reformer, even if he claims that his aim is reconciliation.
3. Anyone who rules by something other than what Allah has revealed is a taghut, and anyone who takes his case to other than what Allah has revealed is taking it to the taghut, whatever label he may give it.
4. It is mandatory to disavow and reject the taghut.
5. The passage warns us against Satan’s scheming and his efforts to turn people away from the truth.
6. When a person is invited to have his dispute settled by what Allah has revealed, he is obliged to respond and accept; whoever turns away is a hypocrite.
7. Claiming to seek reform is no excuse for ruling by anything other than what Allah has revealed.