Surah Araf ayat 56 Tafsir Quran 7:56

﴿وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا ۚ إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾
[ الأعراف: 56]

7:56 And cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation. And invoke Him in fear and aspiration. Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good.

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 qarīb ‘near’ as the predicate of the feminine noun rahma ‘mercy’ is in the masculine because it rahma is annexed to Allāh ‘God’.

Nor does He like those who create discord and make mischief on earth after it has been set in order. And invoke Him with mingled feeling of dread of his just punishment and with reverence, hope and expectation of His mercy and blessings His mercy is indeed in immediate proximity of those whose deeds are imprinted with wisdom and piety

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 ﷺ said,
«أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا 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 It was reported that `Ata' Al-Khurasani narrated from Ibn `Abbas, who said about Allah's statement, إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ ( He likes not the aggressors ) "In the Du`a' and otherwise." Abu Mijlaz commented on, إِنَّهُ لاَ 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 ﷺ 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, وَلاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـحِهَا ( And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order ) 5:56.
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 اللَّهِ 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, وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ 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.

(7:56) Anddo not make mischief in the earth after it has been set in order, *44 and call upon Him with fear and longing. *45 Surely Allah's mercy is close to those who do good.

And cause not corruption upon the earth meaning

*44).
The command not to make mischief in the earth means not to vitiate the right order of life.
What basically, constitutes 'mischief-making' is to surrender oneself to one's lusts, to commit acts in subservience to other human beings and to subscribe to base morals, social orders, civilizations, principles and laws derived from sources other than God's Guidance.
This is the essential mischief from which innumerable evils issue and which the Qur'an seeks to eradicate.
The Qur'an also emphasizes that sound order is the original condition, and disorder and mischief occurred later as accidents resulting from man's ignorance and transgression.
In other words, man's life on earth did not start with ignorance, savagery, polytheistic beliefs, rebellion against God and moral disorder whereafter reforms were gradually introduced.
On the contrary, man's life began with good order and was later corrupted because of man's perversity and folly.
God sent Prophets from time to time in order to eradicate the disorder that had set in and to restore the original, good order.
These Prophets constantly ehorted people to refrain from disrupting the original order and creating mischief.

Thus the Qur'anic view on this question is altogether different from that of the proponents of the false doctrine of evolution, who postulate that man has gradually come out of darkness into light; that life has advanced in a unilinear fashion, towards increasinly better conditions.
The Qur'an rather postulates that human life began in the full light of Divine Guidance, that the original state of affairs was in accord with the Right Way prescribed by God.
The blame for corruption goes to man who, failing victim to Satan's allurements, veered towards darkness and corrupted the right order of human life again and again.
As for God, He continually sent Prophets in order to summon men from darkness to light, and to ask them to eschew evil and wickedness.
( See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, al-Baqarah 2, n.
230, pp.
165-6 - Ed. )
*45).
This clearly shows what the expression 'mischief-making' in the verse signifies.
It consists of man's turning to others than God as his guardian, patron and helper, and calling them to his aid and support.
To bring about reform, therefore, consists of man's turning exclusively to God as his guardian and helper.

'Calling upon Allah with fear and longing' conveys the idea that man should fear God alone, and to Him alone he should look for the fulfilment of his wishes.
While calling upon God man should realize that he is totally dependent on God's favour and that he can attain success only if God helps and guides him to it.
Similarly, man should also bear in mind that once he is deprived of God's support, he is doomed to utter failure and undoing.

 

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 ﷺ said, «أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ارْبَعُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا 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 It was reported that `Ata' Al-Khurasani narrated from Ibn `Abbas, who said about Allah's statement, إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ ( He likes not the aggressors ) "In the Du`a' and otherwise." Abu Mijlaz commented on, إِنَّهُ لاَ 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 ﷺ 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, وَلاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـحِهَا ( And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order ) 5:56.
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 اللَّهِ 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, وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ 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.

( Work not confusion ) through sins and invitation to other than Allah ( in the earth after the fair ordering (thereof )) through obedience and calling to Allah, Exalted is He, ( and call on Him ) worship Him ( in fear ) of Him and His torment ( and hope ) in Him that you shall enter His Paradise. ( Lo! the mercy of Allah ) the Paradise of Allah ( is nigh unto the good ) the believers who are good in their words and works.

And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers.

Page 157 English transliteration