Guile: A Quranic Study

This study addresses the issue of cunning through verses from the Holy Quran based on the objective interpretation of the Holy Quran. The research divided the study into five chapters, an introduction and a conclusion. In the introduction, the researcher discussed the importance of the study, highlighting its value through talking about bad cunning, and warning against its bad consequences. The researcher also discussed the honoring of human beings by God through giving them a mind by which they would differentiate between right and wrong and their total responsibility towards what behaviors they do. In the first chapter, the researcher discussed the meaning of cunning in language, dictionary and the Quranic context. In the second chapter, the researcher explained the types of cunning. In the third chapter, the researcher discussed the reasons behind cunning and the characteristics of those who use it. In the fourth chapter, the researcher discussed the fruits of good cunning and the punishments for those who do bad cunning both in life and afterlife. The fifth chapter included description of the methods of prevention and treatment to protect people from falling into the traps of bad cunning. It also gave the good treatment of those who fall victim to this bad habit. The researcher referred to the different books that have been written about virtues, the opinions of Muslim scholars, Hadith, language and translations. The conclusion included a number of results as follows: 1- Cunning falls into two categories. The first being the good cunning and comes only in the form of reward and is often by God. It could come from people in some cases, especially when a person is being oppressed; It can also be used to spread the word of Allah, or in the battlefield in response to the enemy's cunning. The bad cunning aims to bring harm to people. 2- Disbelief in God is cunning in its own definition; it is the ultimate vice and a strong motivation to do bad cunning. 3- Bad cunning only affects the one who started it.