Hidayah (Guidance) from Allah, Choice from the Human

Hidayah (Guidance) from Allah, Choice from the Human

“… (Allah) guides whoever turns to Him…” (Quran, Shūra [42] 13).
“… Whoever believes in Allah, Allah guides his heart to the truth…” (Quran, Tangabun [64] 11).
“…When they were crooked, Allah crooked their hearts…” (Quran, Saff [61] 5).

Hidayah means to show the right path, to guide (Ibn Manzur, Lisanul-Arab, H-D-Y). Just as Allah shows the right path, so Satan shows the wrong (Quran, Hajj [22] 4).
One of the names of Allah is “al-Hādi” because He shows His servants the right path.
Another name for the Quran is “Huda”. That is, a guide to the right path.
“Ikhtida” means to find, to meet, to live the path shown by Allah.

Choosing right or wrong is left to human choice. Allah determines the outcome according to whether the servant chooses or not.

As long as a person remains in error, Allah will not guide him. For example, Allah does not guide the disbelievers, the wrongdoers and the fa faasiqs (those who turn away from the right path and Allah’s commands). But if a person abandons the wrong and chooses faith, then Allah will show him the truth and accept his guidance.

Even if a person chooses the right path, he may not stay on it. Therefore, he should do what is necessary for that path and make an effort to stay on the right path.

Therefore, the choice is from the servant and guidance is from Allah.