29بَلِ اتَّبَعَ الَّذينَ ظَلَموا أَهواءَهُم بِغَيرِ عِلمٍ ۖ فَمَن يَهدي مَن أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ ۖ وَما لَهُم مِن ناصِرينَMuhammad AsadBut nay - they who are bent on evildoing follow but their own desires, without having any knowledge [of the truth].1 And who could guide those whom God has [thus] let go astray, and who [thereupon] have none to succour them?2In this instance, the phrase alladhina zalamu ("they who are bent on evildoing") relates to those who deliberately ascribe divinity or divine powers to anyone or anything beside God, thus yielding to a desire for divine or semi-divine "mediators" between themselves and Him. Inasmuch as such a desire offends against the concept of God's omniscience and omnipresence, its very existence shows that the person concerned does not really believe in Him and, therefore, does not have the least knowledge of the truth.For an explanation of God's "letting man go astray", see note 4 on the second sentence of 14:4, as well as note 7 on 2:7.