( تَوَلَّى ) (goes away..): The Arabic word has two meanings; the first is “to go away”, and the second is “to rule” or “to give judgement about something”. This reflects the great vessel of the Arabic language, as one word may contain several meanings. Therefore, the Holy Qur’an was revealed in Arabic:
{إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ }
(Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand.) (Yusuf: 34)
( سَعَىٰ فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيهَ ) (..he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein..): Corruption on earth is always man-made; because Allah (swt) has created everything on as good. So, corruption happened in the earth as a result of man’s misaction. Accordingly, you find people fighting for food and water, for example, and they do not fight for the air, why? Because they could not prevent it from the people. Hence, in every action and every matter in which there is corruption, mind that the hand of Man intervened in it, so Allah (swt) says:
{ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ }
(Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned.) (Al-Room: 41)
Thus, there was no corruption, but human beings threw waste into the sea and it became corrupt, they corrupted the seaside, corrupted water, and corrupted forests… they corrupted people, corrupted values and morals, and corrupted the body and values together. Corruption is only made by man; this is the hypocrite human, who shows something different from what he conceals in himself, and who is the fiercest of opponents. This means that whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner, and this is one of the characteristics of the hypocrite. The Prophet (saws) said:
“Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up; Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous. And whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and insulting manner.”[1]
whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very insulting manner. This is the fiercest of opponents about which the verse talks. Abdullah Ibin Ubai Ibin Saloul was the head of the hypocrites, one of the most rival and debauchery towards the Messenger of Allah (swt) through his hypocrisy in the Medina. These are the hypocrites in all times, and the truth is that the danger of the enemies of the nation is beyond its borders, while the act of the hypocrites is internal, and it destroys the homeland and the nation.
The hypocrite is harmful to society; because he shows something different from what he conceals, his main concern is to achieve his goals, his interests, and objectives, for this he tramples on all values, on all morals and on all standards, moreover, he is ready to sell his religion, integrity, honor and homeland. This is part of hypocrisy, and this is the meaning of the verse that corruption is man-made, and it is not by the Lord of man.
( وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ ۗ ) (cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals..): The Arabic word (harth) used for (corps), on the second hand, Allah (swt) says in another verse:
{ نِسَاؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ }
(Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish (Al-Baqarah: 223)
(harth) is also the cultivation and germination. Offspring is kind of cultivation, and human germination leads to offspring, and leads to progeny. When the hypocrite goes away, he destroys crops, plants, offspring and progeny. How does he destroy offspring and progeny? Because corruption prevails, and it passes on from generation to generation, however, some people try to mix the truth with falsehood, Allah Almighty (swt) says:
{وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ}
(And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]) (Al-Baqarah: 42)
Some people on the pretext that they want to fight corruption, they spread corruption, and some people on the pretext that they want to fight extremism, they spread corruption. Fighting extremism is only done by the right religion, morals and values. You cannot fight extremism by spreading corruption. This is not a fight, rather it is spreading and increasing corruption.
( وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَسَادَ ) (And Allah does not like corruption.): Our relationship with Allah (swt) must be a love relationship:
{فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ }
(Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him) (Al-Maiidah: 54)
Allah (swt) does not like corrupters nor corruption, rather Allah (swt) loves goodness and reform; Therefore, the reform movements in society are not based on desires, hatreds, and some misconceptions as reactions, but building societies on moral values is the foundation and the pillar, and these ethics cannot be existed as you move away from the basic values that Allah (swt) has prescribed. Adherence to the Holy Quran, to the rules of religion, and adherence to the right religion as revealed is the right way, to Islam as Allah (swt) has sent down, away from extremism, away from takfeer, away from terrorism, and away from human cultures that led to this corruption. All corruption on earth is resulted from human acts, and not from the orders of the Lord of mankind, nor the orders of the Master of mankind (saws). No matter how the revisionists misrepresent, no matter what the takfiris do, no matter how much they are overstated in their corruption and criminality, Allah’s (swt) word will remain the supreme; because Allah (swt) wants us to live on earth as a mercy for the worlds and a goodness for all human beings, and this is the meaning of these verses.
[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Belief, Chapter: The signs of a hypocrite, no. 34.