Hud (Hud)

116. “But why were there not, among the generations before you, persons possessed understanding (and authority), prohibiting (people) from mischief in the earth, except a few whom We saved from among them? And those who were unjust pursued what they were made to enjoy and they were guilty.”

The Arabic term /baqiyyah/ means ‘remainder’, but it usually refers to ‘virtue’ and ‘power’ in Arabic, maybe because one stores his precious belongings with himself and preserves them to remain; or perhaps because some people who have more power stay on the scene. The holy word /baqiyyah/ has been employed three times in the Qur’an.

In this verse, Allah has criticized a group of believers as to why they do not equip themselves with knowledge and power so as to warn the society. This warning, which has repeatedly been used in the Qur’an, is accompanied with the word /laula/.

At any rate, in this holy verse and the previous one, a fundamental social principle, which stands out in saving human societies from corruption and self-destruction, has been mentioned.

That is, in every society where there is a group of conscious learned and dutiful people who are committed to not remain silent in the face of corruption, who launch campaigns against it, and who lead in developing the ideological awareness of the people, that society will not suffer from self-destruction.

But, when indifference and silence is the rule of the game everywhere, and then society is made defenseless against the elements of corruption, self-destruction will surely be its eventual outcome.

Therefore, while referring to the previous peoples which had been the target of all kinds of disasters, the Qur’an asks why it is that in the previous centuries, there were no righteous people of knowledge and power to prevent all kinds of corruption on the earth.

The verse says:

“But why were there not, among the generations before you, persons possessed understanding (and authority), prohibiting (people) from mischief in the earth...”

The role of /’ulu baqiyyah/ (those possessed understanding and authority) in the survival of society, is so sensitive that one must say that without them the right of societies to survive will be removed from them. This is what the above verse implies.

To make an exception to this rule, the Qur’an says:

“…except a few whom We saved from among them?...”

Despite the fact that this small group observed the rules of persuading others to perform what was good and dissuading them from what was evil, their number was so limited that they could not have any success in reforming the society.

This is reflected in examples like Lot and his small family, Noah and his limited number of believers, Salih and his few followers. The oppressors of these societies, who constituted the majority, pursued their extravagant way of life and were so proud and saturated with pleasures that they committed all kinds of sin.

The verse says:

“…And those who were unjust pursued what they were made to enjoy and they were guilty.”

Such unrestricted affluence and hedonism are the sources of all kinds of deviations and usually originate among affluent families, as their carefree state hinders them from comprehending social realities and covers them with sin, leaving them no chance for becoming familiar with real human values.

Whereas verse 114 deals with prayers, this verse is concerned with dissuading others from doing evil deeds. It is appropriate to mention here some of the verses of the Glorious Qur’an which deal with the subject of prayers together with persuading others to engage in decent acts and dissuading others from committing evil deeds.

Such verses are as follows:

A. “…Verily prayer restrains from indecency and evil…”¹ B. “…Verily the good deeds remove the evil deeds,...”² C. “…Keep up prayer, enjoin the good and forbid evil…”³ D. “Those who, should We establish them in the land, will keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong;...”⁴

The utmost responsibility thus lies with those who are knowledgeable and powerful, and the result of reformers’ sympathy and reformation in society is salvation from Allah’s anger and benefiting from His compassion.

The key to the downfall of former generations has been their indifference and failure to dissuade others from doing wrong, hedonism, and criminal activity, the vicious triangle of destruction.

We hope that Allah may save us, our children, and our coming generations from these dangers and deviations.