• Author: Islamweb

Of the social norms established by the Noble Quran is what Allah stated, “And those who disbelieved are allies of one another. If you do not do so, there will be fitnah on earth and great corruption.” [Quran 8: 73]

According to the above noble verse, if Muslims do not help each other and support each other, Fitnah will come into their midst, ushering great corruption that will spread on land and among people. Therefore, it would not be easy to overcome and eliminate it.

In the following lines, we will have some reflections on the above verse, explain the meaning of Fitnah, cite what the Quran exegetes said about the intent of this verse, and finally mention the most essential benefits and lessons learned from this verse.

As for the term “Fitnah,” it combines the meanings of people’s conditions of chaos, confusion, dispersion, fear, and instability that threaten lives and property in the absence of order and law. It could be used in general or specific terms according to the context and the genitive to which it is related, for example, the ‘Fitnah of money,’ the ‘Fitnah of women,’ the ‘Fitnah of religion,’ and so on.

As people are not all the same in terms of their prudence, patience, and ability to safely overcome Fitnah, it is usually accompanied by trials and tests. That is why ‘trial’ and ‘test’ could be interchangeably used to denote Fitnah; in fact, some linguists leniently interpreted ‘Fitnah’ as ‘trial’.

Having covered the linguistic meaning of Fitnah, let us discuss the exegesis-related sense of the word as mentioned in the above verse. According to Quran exegetes, ‘Fitnah on earth’ means the dominance of disbelief, and ‘great corruption’ means the weakness of Islam. If Muslims are not united against disbelief, it will be dominant, and corruption will be widespread.

The Quran exegetes mentioned two views regarding the meaning of the above verse: first, the verse is addressed to the believers to instruct them that inheritance between them should be based on faith alone, not on kinship and lineage. Second, the verse is addressed to the believers, exhorting them to cooperate together, and support and back each other so that their enemies may not overpower them, break their ranks and spread corruption amongst them. At-Tabari favored the second opinion and cited this verse as evidence that it is impermissible for a Muslim to stay in the lands of non-believers and that it is necessity for him to move to the lands of Islam.

A scrutiny of the texts of the Shariah and its objectives would give preponderance to At-Tabari’s choice as regards the meaning of the above verse. The context of the verses preceding and following this verse talks about the issue of due loyalty and support among the believers. Accordingly, the meaning of the noble verse, as suggested by Al-Zamakhshari, is: If you do not do what I have commanded you of adherence to the Muslim unity and mutual bond of loyalty, giving preference to religious bonds over kinship, severing the ties between you and the disbelievers, and disregarding whatever kinship you might have with them, Fitnah and great corruption will take place on earth, and the objectives of Islam and its Shariah will be missed.

The said Fitnah and corruption, as Ar-Razi commented, are ascertained in the following respects:

First: If the Muslims mix with the disbelievers when Muslims are weak and few, while the disbelievers are strong and many, perhaps that mixing would become a reason for a Muslim to join the disbelievers.

Second: If the Muslims are divided, their strength would be dispersed, and their affairs would be weak, and this would become a reason for the disbelievers to overpower them.

Third: If the community of Muslims is gaining quantum day by day, in terms of demographics and material capabilities, this will be convincing enough for its members to maintain their adherence to it (Islam) and will entice outsiders to join them.

A closer look at the history of Muslims, both ancient and modern, reveals that ‘Fitnah’ and ‘great corruption’ have already occurred in most of its parts. This is for nothing but the Muslims’ reluctance to foster this Quranic principle and their tendency to abandon mutual bond of loyalty among themselves, taking the matter too lightly and some of them even formed such bonds of loyalty with people whom Allah forbade Muslims to form bonds of loyalty with. The fall of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Andalusian, and Ottoman caliphs is the greatest witness to the credibility of this Quranic principle.

The reality of Muslims today is not far from what this noble verse states. Fitnah has spread in many Muslim countries, as a result of being loyal to the disbelievers while leaving allegiance to the Muslims. Great corruption appeared in almost all Muslim lands due to abandoning Allah’s Law and religion.

On the general human level, it can be safely said that the miserable religious, moral, social, and political situation that the world is experiencing today, the human collapse, and the spiritual decadence suffered by the era of globalization is all an interpretation of the Almighty Allah’s saying, “If you do not do so, there will be fitnah on earth and great corruption.”

The truth is that we have not fulfilled our duty and have not done our part as witnesses over the people. We have failed to establish a strong, pure, and faithful Islamic society, and therefore, fitnah on earth and great corruption became rampant. No one gives what they do not have, and a patient cannot treat a patient.

A society that has lost its moral immunity, spiritual strength, moral cohesion, rebellion against lusts and immorality, steadfastness in the face of psychological, financial, and political temptations, and has not held on to the cause that it cherishes and is eager to explain and disseminate, cannot preserve its entity and personality or even its survival and continuity, let alone saving the contemporary world and the present community, from deterioration and collapse, and from the inevitable suicide it desires and pursues “And who is more astray than one who follows his desire without guidance from Allah? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.” [Quran 28: 50]