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Ayah
Word by Word
وَلَا
And (do) not
تُفۡسِدُواْ
cause corruption
فِي
in
ٱلۡأَرۡضِ
the earth
بَعۡدَ
after
إِصۡلَٰحِهَا
its reformation
وَٱدۡعُوهُ
And call Him
خَوۡفٗا
(in) fear
وَطَمَعًاۚ
and hope
إِنَّ
Indeed
رَحۡمَتَ
(the) Mercy
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
قَرِيبٞ
(is) near
مِّنَ
for
ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
the good-doers
وَلَا
And (do) not
تُفۡسِدُواْ
cause corruption
فِي
in
ٱلۡأَرۡضِ
the earth
بَعۡدَ
after
إِصۡلَٰحِهَا
its reformation
وَٱدۡعُوهُ
And call Him
خَوۡفٗا
(in) fear
وَطَمَعًاۚ
and hope
إِنَّ
Indeed
رَحۡمَتَ
(the) Mercy
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
قَرِيبٞ
(is) near
مِّنَ
for
ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
the good-doers
Translation
And cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. And invoke Him in fear and aspiration. Indeed, the mercy of Allāh is near to the doers of good.
Tafsir
And work not corruption in the land, through idolatry and acts of disobedience, after it has been set right, as a result of the sending forth of messengers [to it], and call upon Him in fear, of His punishment, and in hope, of His mercy - surely the mercy of God is near to the virtuous, the obedient (qareeb, 'near', as the predicate of [the feminine noun] rahma, 'mercy', is in the masculine because it [rahma] is annexed to Allaah, 'God').
Encouraging supplicating to Allah
Allah commands His servants to supplicate to Him, for this will ensure their welfare in this life and the Hereafter.
Allah said,
ادْعُواْ رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً
Invoke your Lord Tadarru`an and Khufyah,
meaning, in humbleness and humility.
Allah said in a similar Ayah,
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ
And remember your Lord within yourself. (7:205)
It is recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said,
The people raised their voices with supplications but the Messenger of Allah said,
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَايِبًا إِنَّ الَّذِي تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيب
O people! Take it easy on yourselves. Verily, you are not calling one who is deaf or absent, rather, the One you are calling is All-Hearer, Near (to His servants by His knowledge).
Ibn Jarir said that,
تَضَرُّعًا
(Tadarru`an),
means obeying Him in humility and humbleness,
وَخُفْيَةً
(and Khufyah),
with the humbleness in your hearts and certainty of His Oneness and Lordship not supplicating loudly to show off.
Forbidding Aggression in Supplications
Allah's statement,
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
He likes not the aggressors.
Ata Al-Khurasani narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said about Allah's statement,
In the Du`a and otherwise.
Abu Mijlaz commented on,
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
(He likes not the aggressors),
Such (aggression) as asking to reach the grade of the Prophets.
Imam Ahmad narrated that Abu Ni`amah said that Abdullah bin Mughaffal heard his son supplicating,
O Allah! I ask you for the white castle on the right side of Paradise, if I enter it.
So Abdullah said, O my son! Ask Allah for Paradise and seek refuge with Him from the Fire, for I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
يَكُونُ قَوْمٌ يَعْتَدُونَ فِي الدُّعَاءِ وَالطَّهُور
There will come some people who transgress in supplication and purification.
Ibn Majah and Abu Dawud recorded this Hadith with a good chain that there is no harm in, and Allah knows best.
The Prohibition of causing Mischief in the Land
Allah said next
وَلَا تُفْسِدُواْ فِي الَارْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَحِهَا
And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order,
Allah prohibits causing mischief on the earth, especially after it has been set in order. When the affairs are in order and then mischief occurs, it will cause maximum harm to the people; thus Allah forbids causing mischief and ordained worshipping Him, supplicating to Him, begging Him and being humble to Him.
Allah said,
وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا
and invoke Him with fear and hope,
fearing what He has of severe torment and hoping in what He has of tremendous reward.
Allah then said,
إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Surely, Allah's mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers.
meaning, His mercy is for the good-doers who obey His commands and avoid what He prohibited.
Allah said in another Ayah,
وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ
And My mercy envelopes all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who who have Taqwa. (7:156)
Matar Al-Warraq said,
Earn Allah's promise by obeying Him, for He ordained that His mercy is near to the good-doers.
Ibn Abi Hatim collected this statement
Among Allah's Signs, He sends down the Rain and brings forth the Produce
Allah tells;
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا
And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings,
After Allah stated that He created the heavens and earth and that He is the Owner and Possessor of the affairs Who makes things subservient (for mankind), He ordained that He be invoked in Du`a, for He is able to do all things. Allah also stated that He is the Sustainer and He resurrects the dead on the Day of Resurrection.
Here, Allah said that He sends the wind that spreads the clouds that are laden with rain.
Allah said in another Ayah,
وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَن يُرْسِلَ الرِّيَـحَ مُبَشِّرَتٍ
And among His signs is this, that He sends the winds with glad tidings. (30:46)
Allah's statement,
بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَحْمَتِهِ
going before His mercy,
means, before the rain.
Allah also said;
وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُواْ وَيَنشُرُ رَحْمَتَهُ وَهُوَ الْوَلِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ
And He it is Who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and spreads His mercy. And He is Al-Wali (the Guardian), Al-Hamid (the praiseworthy). (42:28)
and,
فَانظُرْ إِلَى ءَاثَـرِ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُحْىِ الاٌّرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَأ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَمُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Look then at the results of Allah's mercy, how He revives the earth after its death. Verily, that (is the one Who) shall indeed raise the dead, and He is able to do all things. (30:50)
Allah said next,
حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً
Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud,
when the wind carries clouds that are heavy with rain, and this is why these clouds are heavy, close to the earth, and their color is dark.
Allah's statement,
سُقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَّيِّتٍ
We drive it to a land that is dead,
that is, a dry land that does not have any vegetation.
This Ayah is similar to another Ayah,
وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـهَا
And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life. (36:33)
This is why Allah said here,
فَأَنزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاء فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ كَذَلِكَ نُخْرِجُ الْموْتَى
Then We produce every kind of fruit therewith. Similarly, We shall raise up the dead.
meaning, just as We bring life to dead land, We shall raise up the dead on the Day of Resurrection, after they have disintegrated.
Allah will send down rain from the sky and the rain will pour on the earth for forty days. The corpses will then be brought up in their graves, just as the seeds become grow in the ground (on receiving rain).
Allah often mentions this similarity in the Qur'an when He gives the example of what will happen on the Day of Resurrection, and bringing life to dead land,
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
so that you may remember or take heed.
Allah's statement
وَالْبَلَدُ الطَّيِّبُ يَخْرُجُ نَبَاتُهُ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ
The vegetation of a good land comes forth (easily) by the permission of its Lord;
meaning, the good land produces its vegetation rapidly and proficiently.
Allah said in another Ayah (about Maryam, mother of `Isa, peace be upon him);
وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا
He made her grow in a good manner. (3:37)
The Ayah continues,
وَالَّذِي خَبُثَ لَا يَخْرُجُ إِلاَّ نَكِدًا
and that which is bad, brings forth nothing but with difficulty.
Mujahid, and others such as As-Sibakh, etc, also said this.
كَذَلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ الايَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَشْكُرُونَ
Thus do We explain variously the Ayat for a people who give thanks.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Musa said that the Messenger of Allah said,
مَثَلُ مَا بَعَثَنِي اللهُ بِهِ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْهُدَى كَمَثَلِ الْغَيْثِ الْكَثِيرِ أَصَابَ أَرْضًا فَكَانَتْ مِنْهَا نَقِيَّةٌ قَبِلَتِ الْمَاءَ فَأَنْبَتَتِ الْكَلََ وَالْعُشْبَ الْكَثِيرَ
The parable of the guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is that of an abundant rain falling on a land, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance.
وَكَانَتْ مِنْهَا أَجَادِبُ أَمْسَكَتِ الْمَاءَ فَنَفَعَ اللهُ بِهَا النَّاسَ فَشَرِبُوا وَسَقَوْا وَزَرَعُوا
And another portion of it was hard and held the rain water; and Allah benefited the people with it, they utilized it for drinking, making their animals drink from it, and for irrigation of the land for cultivation.
وَأَصَابَ مِنْهَا طَايِفَةً أُخْرَى إِنَّمَا هِيَ قِيعَانٌ لَاأ تُمْسِكُ مَاءً وَلَاأ تُنْبِتُ كَلَأً
And a portion of it was barren which could neither hold the water nor bring forth vegetation.
فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ مَنْ فَقُهَ فِي دِينِ اللهِ وَنَفَعَهُ مَا بَعَثَنِي اللهُ بِهِ فَعَلِمَ وَعَلَّمَ وَمَثَلُ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْفَعْ بِذَلِكَ رَأْسًا وَلَمْ يَقْبَلْ هُدَى اللهِ الَّذِي أُرْسِلْتُ بِه
The first is the example of the person who comprehends Allah's religion and gets benefit which Allah sent me with, by learning and teaching others. The last example is that of a person who does not care for it and does not accept the guidance Allah sent me with.
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