SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 26

PART 2

"وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِۦۤ إِلَّا ٱلۡفَـٰسِقِينَ" (BUT HE DOES NOT LET ANY ONE GO ASTRAY THEREBY EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE SINFUL)

The Arabic word used by the Holy Quran in speaking of the disobedient is Al-fasiqin, its root being fasaqa which means 'to go outside or to stray beyond a limit'. In the terminology of the Shariah Fisq signifies 'going beyond the circle of obedience to Allah, or transgressing the commandments of Allah'. This transgression can either be in the form of outright denial and non-belief leading to Kufr (being a non-believer), or in the form of sinful behaviour in a Muslim. The word has frequently been used in the Quran with its first meaning. In the terminology of the Islamic jurists (Fuqaha) the word Fasiq has commonly been used to denote its second meaning, specifically referring to a person who commits a major sin and does not repent, or who insists on committing minor sins and makes it a habit. A person who commits such sins publicly and openly without being ashamed of these is called a Fajir. (Mazhari)

So the meaning of the verse is that many people get guidance through these examples, and some get misguided by these, but it is only those people who are fasiqin and who transgress against Allah's commandments who get misguided by these examples.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi RE