Surah Hud ayat 117 Tafsir Quran 11:117

﴿وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَىٰ بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ﴾
[ هود: 117]

11:117 And your Lord would not have destroyed the cities unjustly while their people were reformers.

Yet your Lord would never destroy the towns through injustice on His part against them while their inhabitants were righteous that is believers.

Nor would Allah, your Creator, unjustly destroy the towns when their inhabitants are brewing reform and the fundamental truth governs their thoughts

There must be a Group of People Who forbid Lewdness Allah, the Exalted, says that there should have been a group of wise people present among the past generations who called to good and forbade the evil and corruption that took place among them in the land.
His statement, إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( except a few ) This means that there were only a small number of people present among them who were of this caliber.
They were those whom Allah saved at the sudden striking of His vengeance, when His anger was let lose.
For this reason Allah commanded this noble Ummah ( followers of Muhammad ) to always have among them those who command the good and forbid the evil.
This is as Allah says, وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ( Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil.
And it is they who are the successful. )3:104 It is related in a Hadith that the Prophet said,
«إِنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا رَأَوُا الْمُنْكَرَ فَلَمْ يُغَيِّرُوهُ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يَعُمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِعِقَاب»
( Verily, whenever a group of people see an evil and they do not change it, it is likely that Allah will cover them with (His ) punishment.) Thus, Allah says, فَلَوْلاَ كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُوْلُواْ بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ (If only there had been among the generations before you persons having wisdom, There must be a Group of People Who forbid Lewdness Allah, the Exalted, says that there should have been a group of wise people present among the past generations who called to good and forbade the evil and corruption that took place among them in the land.
His statement, إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( except a few ) This means that there were only a small number of people present among them who were of this caliber.
They were those whom Allah saved at the sudden striking of His vengeance, when His anger was let lose.
For this reason Allah commanded this noble Ummah ( followers of Muhammad ) to always have among them those who command the good and forbid the evil.
This is as Allah says, وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ( Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil.
And it is they who are the successful. )3:104 It is related in a Hadith that the Prophet said,
«إِنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا رَأَوُا الْمُنْكَرَ فَلَمْ يُغَيِّرُوهُ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يَعُمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِعِقَاب»
( Verily, whenever a group of people see an evil and they do not change it, it is likely that Allah will cover them with (His ) punishment.) Thus, Allah says, فَلَوْلاَ كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُوْلُواْ بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ ( If only there had been among the generations before you persons having wisdom, prohibiting (others ) from the Fasad in the earth,- except a few of those whom We saved from among them!) Concerning the statement, وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مَآ أُتْرِفُواْ فِيهِ ( Those who did wrong pursued the enjoyment of good things of (this worldly ) life,) This means that they continued in their ways of disobedience and evils and they did not heed the protesting of those righteous people, until the torment suddenly seized them. وَكَانُواْ مُجْرِمِينَ ( and were criminals. ) Then, Allah informs that he does not destroy any town, except that it has wronged itself.
No correctional punishment or torment comes to any town, except that its people were wrongdoers.
This is as Allah says, s وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـهُمْ وَلَـكِن ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ( We wronged them not, but they wronged themselves. ) 11:101 Allah also says, وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّـمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ ( And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His ) servants.) 41:46 وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ

(11:117) And your Lord is not such as would wrongfully destroy human habitations while their inhabitants are righteous. *115

And your Lord would not have destroyed meaning

*115).
These verses bring out, in a significantly instructive manner, the real factors which caused the destruction of those nations whose history has been narrated earlier ( see verse 36 ff.
above ).
Reviewing that history, the Qur'an points out the single common denominator of all those nations which met their doom in the past.
All those nations had formerly been favoured with God's blessings.
But drunk with affluence, they resorted to mischief on earth.
Their collective conscience was also completely vitiated.
The result was that no righteous person was left among them to prevent them from committing evils.
And if any such person did exist, their number was either too small, or their voice too feeble to prevent evils from predominating.
This situation eventually invited God's wrath upon them.
Had they not been so evil, there was no reason why God should punish them.
After all, He bears no such grudge against His creatures that would prompt Him to punish people even when they act righteously.

The above statement is intended to underscore three points.
Firstly, that it is imperative that there should always be a good number of righteous people in every society; those who would invite people to righteousness and prevent them from evil.
For God likes to see that there is righteousness in the world.
And if God does tolerate the existence of evil in human society, He does so since the potential for righteousness continues to exist in that society.
But such tolerance endures only as long as that potential remains.
However, if the condition of a community deteriorates, rendering it altogether devoid of good people, or if the good people in that community become an insignificant minority, too weak to prevent it from proceeding along its evil ways, then God's chastisement begins to loom large over it.
That much can be said for sure.
However, it is difficult to say with any precision when God's chastisement will actually smite that community and destroy it.

Secondly, a community that is prepared to put up with everything except a group of righteous people in its midst - people that call men to do good and forbid them from doing evil - is certainly destined for self-destruction.
The attitude of that community clearly shows that it cherishes all that would lead to its destruction, and that it is intolerant of all that would ensure its survival.

Thirdly, God's final decision whether to punish a community or not depends on the extent to which that community is possessed of the elements that would enable it to respond to the call of truth.
If it has such people in good numbers that would suffice to extirpate evil and establish a righteous order, such a community is spared the kind of chastisement which embraces whole communities and totally destroys them.
If it is subjected to some partial rather than an all-embracing chastisement, the purpose of it is to enable its righteous elements to mend their ways.

It is possible, however, that in spite of continued efforts, the community will be unable to throw up a sufficient number of good people needed to bring about its reform.
It is also possible that the community will demonstrate by its action that it is full of corrupt people and altogether bereft of virtuous ones.
The community, in such a case, has obviously become a heap of coal in which no diamonds are left.
When such a stage is reached God causes a fire to erupt, a fire that reduces this heap of coal to a heap of ashes.
( For further elaboration see al-Dhariyat 51, n.
34. )
 

There must be a Group of People Who forbid Lewdness Allah, the Exalted, says that there should have been a group of wise people present among the past generations who called to good and forbade the evil and corruption that took place among them in the land.
His statement, إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( except a few ) This means that there were only a small number of people present among them who were of this caliber.
They were those whom Allah saved at the sudden striking of His vengeance, when His anger was let lose.
For this reason Allah commanded this noble Ummah ( followers of Muhammad ) to always have among them those who command the good and forbid the evil.
This is as Allah says, وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ( Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil.
And it is they who are the successful. )3:104 It is related in a Hadith that the Prophet said, «إِنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا رَأَوُا الْمُنْكَرَ فَلَمْ يُغَيِّرُوهُ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يَعُمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِعِقَاب» ( Verily, whenever a group of people see an evil and they do not change it, it is likely that Allah will cover them with (His ) punishment.) Thus, Allah says, فَلَوْلاَ كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُوْلُواْ بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ (If only there had been among the generations before you persons having wisdom, There must be a Group of People Who forbid Lewdness Allah, the Exalted, says that there should have been a group of wise people present among the past generations who called to good and forbade the evil and corruption that took place among them in the land.
His statement, إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً ( except a few ) This means that there were only a small number of people present among them who were of this caliber.
They were those whom Allah saved at the sudden striking of His vengeance, when His anger was let lose.
For this reason Allah commanded this noble Ummah ( followers of Muhammad ) to always have among them those who command the good and forbid the evil.
This is as Allah says, وَلْتَكُن مِّنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ( Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil.
And it is they who are the successful. )3:104 It is related in a Hadith that the Prophet said, «إِنَّ النَّاسَ إِذَا رَأَوُا الْمُنْكَرَ فَلَمْ يُغَيِّرُوهُ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يَعُمَّهُمُ اللَّهُ بِعِقَاب» ( Verily, whenever a group of people see an evil and they do not change it, it is likely that Allah will cover them with (His ) punishment.) Thus, Allah says, فَلَوْلاَ كَانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُوْلُواْ بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسَادِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ ( If only there had been among the generations before you persons having wisdom, prohibiting (others ) from the Fasad in the earth,- except a few of those whom We saved from among them!) Concerning the statement, وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مَآ أُتْرِفُواْ فِيهِ ( Those who did wrong pursued the enjoyment of good things of (this worldly ) life,) This means that they continued in their ways of disobedience and evils and they did not heed the protesting of those righteous people, until the torment suddenly seized them. وَكَانُواْ مُجْرِمِينَ ( and were criminals. ) Then, Allah informs that he does not destroy any town, except that it has wronged itself.
No correctional punishment or torment comes to any town, except that its people were wrongdoers.
This is as Allah says, s وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـهُمْ وَلَـكِن ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ( We wronged them not, but they wronged themselves. ) 11:101 Allah also says, وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّـمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ ( And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His ) servants.) 41:46 وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَلاَ يَزَالُونَ مُخْتَلِفِينَ

( In truth thy Lord destroyed not ) the people of ( the townships tyrannously ) because of the tyranny they committed ( while their folk were doing right ) while there were among them those who enjoined good and forbade evil; it is also said that this means: your Lord would not have destroyed the people of the townships through an injustice from Him while their people were doing right, i.e. engaged in acts of obedience and holding firm to them.

And your Lord would never destroy the towns wrongfully, while their people were right-doers.

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