Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:11

Corruption (fasād) is the departure of a thing from its state of rectitude and its utility. Its opposite is rectitude (ṣalāḥ), which is the attainment of a state that is upright and beneficial.

Corruption in the earth is the stirring up of wars and tribulations, for that entails the corruption of what is on earth and the negation of rectitude in the affairs of people, crops, and religious and worldly benefits. God Almighty says: "And when he turns away, he strives throughout the earth to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals" (2:205), and "Will You place therein one who causes corruption and sheds blood?" (2:30). From this, a war that occurred between the Tayy tribe was called "The War of Corruption."

The corruption of the hypocrites on earth was that they would lean toward the disbelievers and support them against the Muslims by revealing their secrets and inciting them against them. Since this conduct of theirs led to corruption, it was said to them: "Do not cause corruption." This is like saying to a man, "Do not kill yourself with your own hand, and do not cast yourself into the fire," when he is about to do something that leads to that end.

"Only" (innamā) is used to restrict a predicate to a subject, like saying "Only Zayd speaks," or to restrict a subject to a predicate, like saying "Zayd is only a writer." The meaning of "We are only reformers" is that the attribute of being reformers has been perfected in them, purified from any trace of corruption.

"Nay" (alā) is composed of the interrogative hamza and the particle of negation, used to alert the listener to the certainty of what follows. When interrogation enters upon negation, it yields affirmation, as in: "Is He not able...?" (75:40). Because it occupies this position of affirmation, the sentence following it is almost always introduced by something that follows an oath or its precursors.

God rejected their claim of being among the reformers with the most eloquent refutation, indicating great wrath. The exaggeration is achieved through the isti'nāf (resumption of speech) and the emphasis provided by the two particles (inna and alā), the definition of the predicate, and the insertion of the pronoun (faṣl).

"They do not perceive" (lā yash'urūn): They are described as lacking perception for two reasons:

1. To disparage their state, as it is far from the truth and leads to corruption and tribulation.
2. To show them the more upright path—that of following the wise and entering their ranks. Their response was to deem them foolish due to their own excessive foolishness, and ignorant due to their persistent ignorance. This serves as a consolation to the scholar regarding what he encounters from the ignorant.

If you ask: "How is it valid to attribute 'it is said' to 'do not cause corruption and believe,' when attributing a verb to a verb is invalid?" I say: What is invalid is attributing a verb to the meaning of a verb. This is an attribution to its wording, as if it were said: "And when this statement and this speech is said to them."

"As" (kamā) in "as the people have believed": The "people" (al-nās) refers to a specific group—the Messenger (PBUH) and those with him. Or, they are specific people known to them, like Abdullah ibn Salam and his followers, because they are of their own kin. Or, it refers to the genus, meaning "as those who are perfect in humanity have believed." Or, the believers are made to seem as if they are the only "people" in reality, while others are like beasts lacking the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

The interrogation in "Shall we believe?" carries the meaning of denial. The "lam" in "the foolish" (al-sufahā') points to the "people," just as you might say to a companion, "Zayd has slandered you," and he replies, "Has that fool really done that?"

If you ask: "Why did they call them foolish and belittle their intellects when they were the most balanced of the wise?" I say: Because of their ignorance and failure to reflect or be fair to themselves, they believed that their own path was the truth and everything else was falsehood. Whoever rides the mount of falsehood is a fool. Furthermore, they were in positions of leadership and wealth among their people, while most believers were poor, including freedmen like Suhayb, Bilal, and Khabbab, so they called them "foolish" to belittle their status.

The reason this verse ends with "they do not know" while the previous one ended with "they do not perceive" is that matters of religion and realizing that the believers are on the truth and they are on falsehood require reflection and deduction. As for hypocrisy and the aggression leading to tribulation and corruption on earth, it is a worldly matter built on customs known to people—especially the Arabs in their Jahiliyyah—and the mutual raiding and warring that existed among them. It is like something sensed and witnessed. Also, since "foolishness" (which is ignorance) was mentioned, mentioning "knowledge" alongside it is a more beautiful antithesis.

The flow of this verse is different from the beginning of the story of the hypocrites; it is not a repetition. The former was to explain their doctrine, while this is to explain their conduct with the believers: lying to them, mocking them, meeting them with the faces of friends, and pretending to be with them, while when they depart to their own kind, they reveal what is in their hearts.

(A narration follows regarding Abdullah ibn Ubayy and his companions meeting the Prophet's companions and praising them, then mocking them afterward.)

"When they meet" (lāqū): To meet someone is to encounter them. "When they are alone" (khalaw): To be alone with someone. It may also come from khalā meaning "to pass away," as in "the past generations." Or it means "when they mock them," from the saying "so-and-so is alone with the honor of so-and-so," meaning he is toying with it.

"Their devils" (shayāṭīnuhum): Those who resembled devils in their rebellion.

"We are with you" (innā ma'akum): We are your companions and agree with your religion. If you ask: "Why did they address the believers with a verbal sentence and their devils with a nominal sentence?" I say: What they said to the believers was not worthy of the strongest of the two types of speech, because they were claiming the emergence of faith in them, not that they were unique in faith. As for addressing their brothers, they were speaking of their own steadfastness in Judaism and their firm belief in disbelief, which they spoke of with genuine desire and relief. Thus, it was a place for verification and emphasis.

"We are only mockers" (innamā naḥnu mustahzi'ūn): This is an emphasis on the previous statement. Mockery is a rejection of Islam; whoever belittles Islam has magnified disbelief.

"God mocks them" (Allāhu yastahzi'u bihim): This is an isti'nāf (resumption) of extreme eloquence and grandeur. It indicates that God is the One who mocks them with the ultimate mockery—a mockery that makes their mockery of Him insignificant. It also shows that God takes charge of mocking them as a retribution for the believers, sparing the believers from having to respond in kind.

"And He prolongs them" (yamudduhum): From madad (reinforcement), meaning to increase and strengthen. It is used here to mean that because God withheld His graces from them due to their persistence in disbelief, their hearts remained in increasing darkness, which is called "prolonging."

"Blindness" ('amah) is like 'amā (blindness), except that 'amā is general to sight and opinion, while 'amah is specific to opinion—it is confusion and hesitation, not knowing where to turn.

"Purchasing error with guidance" is a metaphor for choosing the former over the latter and exchanging one for the other.

"Their trade has not profited" (fa-mā rabiḥat tijāratuhum): This is a metaphorical attribution, as the trade is attributed to the traders. This is a "refined metaphor" (al-majāz al-murashshaḥ), where the metaphor is followed by related terms—like "trade," "profit," and "purchasing"—to complete the imagery of their loss and the reality of their situation. They lost both the capital (guidance) and the profit, and they were not guided to the ways of trade.