Document Type : Original article
Authors
1
Ph. D. in Quranic Studies and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Associated Professor of Quranic Studies and Hadith, Faculty of Theology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/naghdeara.2025.527031.1304
Abstract
This study undertakes a critical re-examination of classical and modern Quranic commentaries (tafasīr) concerning verse 251 of Surah al-Baqarah, with a specific focus on the pivotal phrase: “Were it not for Allah’s repelling of the people, some by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted” (wa-lawlā dafʿu allāhi al-nāsa baʿḍahum bi-baʿḍin la-fasadat al-arḍ). The primary research question guiding this inquiry is to determine the most accurate and explicit meaning of this verse, derived from a close analysis of its textual context (siyāq) and a systematic critique of the diverse interpretive opinions found within the exegetical tradition. The author's approach is grounded in the premises of Islamic theology, engaging with the scripture as a divine revelation and operating within its hermeneutical framework.
The investigation is structured around three core components of the phrase. First, it explores the nature of “Allah’s repelling” (dafʿu Allāh). The research identifies and critiques three major interpretive trends among the commentators: 1) viewing it as an innate, natural law governing creation; 2) equating it with the concept of the “struggle for existence”; and 3) understanding it primarily as the divine injunction of jihad and armed combat. The study argues that the immediate narrative context of the verse, which recounts the military conflict between the Israelites under Ṭalut (Saul) and the army of Jālūt (Goliath), lends strongest support to the third interpretation, wherein God’s repelling is actualized through the divinely sanctioned military struggle of the believers.
Second, this study analyzes the agents involved in this dynamic, encapsulated in the phrase “some by means of others” (baʿḍahum bi-baʿḍ). It catalogues the wide spectrum of opinions on the identity of these groups, which range from the repelling of wrongdoers by other wrongdoers to the repelling of people of falsehood (ahl al-bāṭil) by the people of truth (ahl al-ḥaqq). After a critical review, the study concludes that the context unequivocally points to a confrontation between two morally and theologically opposed factions: a group upholding truth and monotheism, and a group embodying falsehood and oppression. Consequently, interpretations that align with this binary, such as the repelling of disbelievers and polytheists by Muslims and believers, are validated, while interpretations suggesting a repelling among wrongdoers themselves are deemed inconsistent with the verse's plain meaning.
Third, the paper examines the meaning of the consequent clause, “the earth would have been corrupted” (la-fasadat al-arḍ). It discusses the various interpretations of this corruption, including the ruin of the earth's physical benefits, the corruption of its inhabitants, and the societal collapse of human communities. By cross-referencing the verse with its close parallel in Surah al-Hajj (22:40), which states that without this divine repelling, “monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah's name is much mentioned would have been demolished”, the research contends that the corruption primarily denotes tangible, worldly ruin. This includes the destruction of places of worship, the killing of innocent people, and the general breakdown of social order that would ensue from the unchallenged dominance of oppressive forces.
In conclusion, the synthesis of the critical analysis of classical commentaries, reinforced by the comparative study of Q 2:251 and Q 22:40, affirms that the explicit meaning of the verse is the establishment of a divinely ordained law of social and military confrontation between truth and falsehood. This confrontation, manifested in the divinely sanctioned struggle of the believers against oppression, serves as the divinely instituted mechanism (dafʿ) through which God prevents the total corruption (fasād) of the earth, thereby preserving the possibility of a just and pious social order.
Keywords
Subjects
