The Fasad and Uluww of Bani Israel as the Cause of the Punishment of Attack

Series: Malaysia Is About to Be Attacked, Because This Is the Land of Bani Israel

Required Reading Before Continuing This Article

Before continuing, you are required to read the foundational article below first:

Essential Foundations That Must Be Understood Before Reading This Article

This article must not be read in isolation from that foundation. Do not continue reading this article with a mind already filled with assumptions. Do not read it through an old framework that has become used to locking Surah al-Isra’ into interpretations that may not necessarily be placed correctly.

In the previous section, we completed our examination of The 10 Complete Commandments of Allah to Bani Israel According to the Qur’an, which formed their covenant with Allah from thousands of years ago until today. These commandments were revealed through Prophet Musa a.s. However, when the teachings of Prophet Muhammad SAW came, we can see that some of the principles within those commandments were corrected, renewed and restored to the true meaning of tawhid.

Our previous discussion was based on verse 4 of Surah al-Isra’:

وَقَضَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ فِي ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ لَتُفۡسِدُنَّ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَرَّتَيۡنِ وَلَتَعۡلُنَّ عُلُوّٗا كَبِيرٗا

“And We decreed to Bani Israel in the Book that you would surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you would surely rise with great arrogance.”

Surah al-Isra’ 17:4

To make the discussion easier, we divided this verse into three main phrases.

The first phrase is:

وَقَضَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ فِي ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ

“And We decreed to Bani Israel in the Book.”

We have already completed the discussion on this phrase. There, we saw that this verse begins with a decree from Allah upon Bani Israel. Therefore, before we speak about corruption, punishment and attack, we must first understand that all of it originates from the covenant and decree that Allah placed upon them.

The second phrase is:

لَتُفۡسِدُنَّ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَرَّتَيۡنِ

“You would surely cause corruption on the earth twice.”

This is the phrase we will discuss now. Here, Allah does not merely say that Bani Israel would commit corruption. Allah says that this corruption would take place on the earth, and that it would happen twice. Therefore, we must read this phrase carefully and patiently because every word affects the meaning of the verses that follow.

The third phrase is:

وَلَتَعۡلُنَّ عُلُوّٗا كَبِيرٗا

“And you would surely rise with great elevation.”

These two phrases are too wide in scope to be discussed fully in one place. They touch on the foundations of religious teaching, the breaking of the covenant, corruption on the earth and the act of transgressing the limits set by Allah. This includes the decrees that have been restored and clarified again through the teachings of Islam, which also apply to them. Whatever angle we take in discussing the remaining part of this verse, it will eventually return to the commandments of Allah upon Bani Israel.

It will return to how they received the commandments, changed the commandments and violated the commandments. It will also return to how they treated the verses of Allah until that corruption was no longer merely an individual sin, but became a major corruption that affected the earth.

Pay attention to the scope of these commandments and see how vast it is.

This conduct is what leads to the condition mentioned in verse 5. When the corruption reaches the level determined by Allah, punishment comes. They were attacked not once, but twice. They were attacked twice because they committed transgression twice.

Look again at the scope of these commandments and notice how wide the discussion becomes if we want to examine it properly. These are the topics that caused Bani Israel to be punished when they broke that covenant.

From Commandments to Great Fasad and Uluww

Surah al-Isra’ verses 22 to 39 must be read as one framework of commandments. From there, we will see that Allah does not mention these commandments as separate instructions. Allah is building a complete framework for human life.

That framework begins with tawhid. It then moves to parents, family, relatives, the poor, the wayfarer, wealth, wastefulness, life, lineage, orphans, promises, measure, balance, knowledge and finally the arrogance of human beings on the earth.

So when Allah says to Bani Israel:

لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ

“You would surely cause corruption on the earth twice.” (17:4)

The word fasad should not be read in a simple and light manner. Fasad is not merely “doing evil.”

Fasad happens when the framework of Allah’s commandments begins to be broken. Tawhid is corrupted. The rights of parents are lowered. Human rights are ignored. Wealth is misused. Children are killed out of fear of poverty. Zina is approached. Lives are taken without right. Retaliation is carried beyond its limits. The property of orphans is touched unjustly. Promises are broken. Measures and balances are manipulated. People follow things without knowledge. Human beings walk upon the earth with arrogance.

For example, this land should have been used to build mosques, but instead temples, shrines and churches, which are symbols of worship besides Allah, have been increased. This is shirk against Allah on this land, and it violates Commandment 1, the Foundation of Tawhid and the Prohibition of Shirk.

When LGBTQ sexual culture becomes normalized, lineage becomes corrupted. Some are harmed by AIDS, which can lead to death. Some children are also born through zina, not through lawful marriage. Lineage is eventually corrupted. This violates Commandment 5, the Protection of Life, Lineage and Human Dignity.

One person cheating in measure is a sin. But when cheating in measure becomes an economic culture, a trading system, a policy of power and a social norm, it begins to move toward fasad. In the modern age, the reduction of measure is not necessarily seen only in physical weights and scales. It can also appear in the form of the shrinking purchasing power of currency through inflation.

One person speaking without knowledge is a mistake. But when lies, slander, falsification of knowledge, distortion of revelation and concealment of truth are done systematically, defended and inherited, it is moving toward a heavier form of fasad.

One arrogant person has a disease of the heart. But when that arrogance turns into a racial system, a power system, a religious system, a political system and a system of oppression, especially among national leaders, then it is no longer merely a personal attitude. It becomes great arrogance on the earth.

All of these are examples of doors to fasad. However, the fasad mentioned in verse 17:4 is not merely an individual mistake that happens occasionally. Allah describes it as something that occurs on the earth and happens twice. This indicates that the corruption is major, visible, repeated and impactful upon the field of human life.

A Method for Reading Great Fasad and Uluww

To understand this matter in greater detail, readers may use the method of the Spectrum of Human Actions According to the Quran.

This Spectrum method is first and foremost used to evaluate oneself. It is not a tool for quickly judging others. Through this method, a person can examine the position of his own actions. Are his actions still within the level of ordinary mistakes, have they become a heavier evil, have they begun to damage the sources of truth, or have they been repeated, defended, normalized and turned into a habit of life?

If this method is used to read a situation, readers must be careful. Observing a pattern of corruption is not the same as judging human beings absolutely. We may observe signs, effects, patterns and consequences of an action, but we must not cross the limits of knowledge by judging someone’s heart, intention or standing with Allah.

This is where Commandment 8 becomes very important, namely Discipline of Knowledge and Accountability of the Senses. Allah forbids human beings from following anything without knowledge. Hearing, sight and the heart will all be held accountable. Therefore, when we evaluate fasad, we must evaluate it with knowledge, evidence, precise language and clear limits. If not, the act of evaluation itself can become a violation of the very commandment we are discussing.

The Spectrum article can help us understand that human actions are not all on the same level. There is ordinary evil. There is heavier evil. There is evil that damages the sources of truth. There is also evil that is repeated, defended, normalized and turned into a culture of life.

Within this framework, Spectrum -3 can help us recognize evil that damages the sources of truth, such as lying in the name of Allah, twisting verses, concealing guidance and using religion to oppress human beings. Spectrum -4 helps us see evil that is repeated, defended, normalized and turned into a habit of life. However, all of this must be read with discipline of knowledge, not with the desire to judge people.

From Visible Fasad to Inner Uluww

Fasad alone is not enough to read the whole of verse 4. Allah does not only say:

لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ

Allah continues with the phrase:

وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا

This shows that their corruption does not only occur in the field of the earth. It also occurs in the field of the soul, power and the spiritual position of human beings before Allah.

Fasad is visible corruption. Uluww is inner self-elevation.

Fasad can be seen in visible corruption that touches tawhid, family, society, economy, life, lineage, trust, muamalat, knowledge and human conduct on the earth.

Uluww can be read in the attitude of human beings who feel too high to submit to the command of Allah, too great to return to the truth and too confident in their own system until they are willing to defend that corruption.

The word uluww comes from the root meaning of height, rising and being above. From this root also comes one of the names and attributes of Allah, al-ʿAliyy, the Most High. The height of Allah is absolute, perfect and belongs only to Allah. A created being may be high in place, rank or position, but a created being has no right to take the meaning of absolute height that belongs to Allah.

Human beings are supposed to enslave themselves to Allah, the Most High. But when human beings refuse to submit, seek another deity besides Allah, elevate their own system, magnify their own desires and feel that they are higher than the command of Allah, then they are moving from the position of a servant into the attitude of uluww.

In other words, uluww is when a human being wants to wear a quality of height that does not belong to him. He is not merely causing corruption on the earth. He is also elevating himself before the decree of Allah. When a created being behaves as if he is higher than the command of the Lord, then he deserves to be punished when he reaches the level determined by Allah.

That is why when tawhid is corrupted, its fasad is the corruption of the foundation of life on earth. Its uluww is when human beings feel they have the right to place something besides Allah as the source of fear, obedience, hope, law and servitude.

When human rights are ignored, its fasad is social corruption. Its uluww is when human beings feel that their race, class, power, economy or religion gives them a license to look down on the rights of others.

When wealth is misused, measures are manipulated and justice in muamalat is corrupted, its fasad is economic corruption. Its uluww is when human beings feel clever enough to cheat the system, control value, manipulate the market and still assume that they will not be questioned by Allah.

When knowledge is falsified, revelation is twisted, truth is hidden and people follow things without knowledge, its fasad is the corruption of knowledge. Its uluww is when human beings feel that their assumptions, propaganda, inherited group narratives and power interests are higher than the guidance of Allah.

When human beings walk upon the earth with arrogance, its fasad is the effect of that arrogance on human life. Its uluww is the original disease that makes human beings feel great, even though they cannot tear through the earth and cannot reach the height of the mountains.

Fasad and Uluww as the Cause of Punishment

Therefore, fasad and uluww must be read together.

Fasad is corruption on the earth. Uluww is the arrogance that gives birth to that corruption, defends it and keeps it alive.

Fasad shows what is corrupted. Uluww shows why human beings continue that corruption even when the command of Allah is clear.

This is where Spectrum -3 and -4 become useful as a tool for reading the level of corruption. When corruption has touched revelation, truth, knowledge, trust and human rights, it has entered a very serious field. When that corruption is repeated, defended, inherited, normalized and turned into a system, it is no longer a small and isolated mistake. It has become great fasad on the earth, born from great uluww within the soul and system of human beings.

That is why verse 4 does not stop at informing us that Bani Israel will commit corruption. Allah states that this corruption will happen on the earth twice and will be accompanied by great self-elevation.

When visible fasad and inner uluww come together, punishment no longer comes without cause. It comes because the framework of commandments has been violated, the wisdom of revelation has been treated lightly and human beings have elevated themselves before the decree of Allah.

Closing: Great Fasad and Uluww

After reading verse 4 together with the framework of Allah’s commandments in Surah al-Isra’ verses 22 to 39, we can see that fasad and uluww are not just two separate words.

Fasad shows the corruption that happens on the earth. Uluww shows the attitude of self-elevation that makes human beings dare to defend that corruption even when the command of Allah is clear.

Therefore, the punishment in the following verse does not come without cause. It comes after the commandments are violated, the wisdom of revelation is treated lightly and human beings elevate themselves before the decree of Allah.

From here, verse 4 begins to connect directly to verse 5.

Allah says:

فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ أُولَىٰهُمَا

“So when the promise of the first of the two came...” (17:5)

Verse 5 can no longer be read casually. It comes after Allah has decreed that Bani Israel will cause fasad on the earth twice and will rise with great uluww.

Therefore, the next question is no longer only about the meaning of fasad and uluww. The greater question is:

What happens when the promise of the first fasad arrives?

In the next section, we will enter into verse 5.
Click to support us.