فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوٓا۟ أَرْحَامَكُمْ 22
Translations
So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your [ties of] relationship?
Transliteration
Fa-hal 'asaytum in tawallaytum an tufsidoo fil-ardi wa-taqatti'oo arhamakum
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question warning the believers that if they turn away from Allah's guidance, they will inevitably corrupt the earth and sever family ties. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret this as a causal connection: rejection of divine guidance naturally leads to moral corruption and societal breakdown, beginning with the destruction of familial bonds, which are foundational to a healthy society. The ayah emphasizes personal accountability by directly addressing the addressees' potential choices and their inevitable consequences.
Revelation Context
Surah Muhammad was revealed in Madinah during a period of intensified conflict between the Muslim community and its opponents. This ayah comes in a section warning believers against hypocrisy and wavering faith, reminding them that abandoning Islamic principles leads to widespread corruption (fasad) in society, mirroring the state of pre-Islamic Arabia and contemporary hostile societies.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever severs the ties of kinship will not enter Paradise' (Sahih Bukhari 5638). Additionally, 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3895), highlighting the primacy of maintaining family bonds in Islam.
Themes
Key Lesson
Straying from Allah's path is not merely a personal spiritual matter but has cascading social consequences, beginning with the disintegration of family bonds and spreading to broader societal corruption. Maintaining Islamic principles, particularly upholding family ties (silat al-rahim), is essential for both individual salvation and social stability.
Related Ayahs
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَتَعْسًا لَّهُمْ وَأَضَلَّ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ
But those who disbelieve - for them is misery, and He will waste their deeds.
وَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَتْ سُورَةٌ ۖ فَإِذَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ مُّحْكَمَةٌ وَذُكِرَ فِيهَا ٱلْقِتَالُ ۙ رَأَيْتَ ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ نَظَرَ ٱلْمَغْشِىِّ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۖ فَأَوْلَىٰ لَهُمْ
Those who believe say, "Why has a sūrah not been sent down?" But when a precise sūrah is revealed and battle is mentioned therein, you see those in whose hearts is disease [i.e., hypocrisy] looking at you with a look of one overcome by death. And more appropriate for them [would have been]
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَوْلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَأَنَّ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ لَا مَوْلَىٰ لَهُمْ
That is because Allāh is the protector of those who have believed and because the disbelievers have no protector.
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَلَا تُبْطِلُوٓا۟ أَعْمَـٰلَكُمْ
O you who have believed, obey Allāh and obey the Messenger and do not invalidate your deeds.