Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 83

(Ayah 83) ➊ The literal meaning of { تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْاٰخِرَةُ …: ’’ عُلُوًّا ‘‘} is to be high; the intended meaning is to consider oneself above others and to regard others as insignificant. The literal meaning of {’’ فَسَادًا ‘‘} is corruption; generally, this word is used in the sense of theft, robbery, usurpation, looting, murder and bloodshed, and depriving people of their rights. The intended meaning is disobedience to Allah and His Messenger, whoever it may be, because it is from this that corruption spreads in the land, and the greatest corruption is associating partners with Allah.
➋ Pointing towards the greatness of the Hereafter, it is said that this final abode which you keep hearing about, We make it for those who not only do not adopt arrogance and rebellion and do not commit corruption in the land, but do not even intend to do these two things. The meaning is that in the abode of the Hereafter, there is no share for Pharaoh, Qarun, and those like them, whose lives are full of arrogance and corruption.
➌ Iyad bin Hamar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood among us one day to deliver a sermon. He (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned many things, among them was that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ وَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ أَوْحٰی إِلَيَّ أَنْ تَوَاضَعُوْا حَتّٰی لَا يَفْخَرَ أَحَدٌ عَلی أَحَدٍ وَلَا يَبْغِيْ أَحَدٌ عَلٰی أَحَدٍ ] [ مسلم، الجنۃ و صفۃ نعیمھا، باب الصفات التي یعرف بھا في الدنیا أھل الجنۃ و أھل النار : ۶۴ /۲۸۶۵ ] "Allah Almighty has revealed to me that you should adopt humility, so that no one boasts over another and no one oppresses another." Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِيْ قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ، قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَ نَعْلُهُ حَسَنَةً، قَالَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ جَمِيْلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب تحریم الکبر و بیانہ : ۹۱ ] "He will not enter Paradise who has even an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart." A man said: "A person likes that his clothes are good and his shoes are good (is this also arrogance)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty; arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people."
➍ { وَ الْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ:} And the good end is for those who fear Allah and stay away from all kinds of arrogance and corruption.

83-1. The meaning of 'uluww' is oppression and excess, considering oneself greater and superior to others and making others believe so, showing arrogance, pride, and conceit. The meaning of 'fasad' is to unjustly seize people's wealth or to commit acts of disobedience, as both of these things spread corruption in the land. It is stated that the actions and character of the muttaqin are free from these evils and shortcomings, and instead of arrogance, they possess humility and modesty, and instead of disobedience, they have obedience. The home of the Hereafter, that is, Paradise and a good end, will be their share.

83. That home of the Hereafter We assign to those who do not desire exaltation or corruption in the land, and the best outcome is for the righteous.

[112] ﴿عَلَوْا﴾ means exalted, arrogant, proud; that is, they do not live by making themselves great nor by suppressing others, rather they live with humility and modesty, and as obedient servants of Allah. The home of the Hereafter is reserved only for such people. It is never for those who seek exaltation and fame, or who live arrogantly.

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The Meaning of Corruption. What is Corruption in the Land?

The word "corruption" is generally used in the sense of theft, robbery, usurpation, embezzlement, looting, and murder and bloodshed, whereas in the Islamic legal terminology, the meaning of "corruption in the land" is much broader; that is, any act in which a person exceeds his own rights or violates the rights of others will fall under the category of "corruption in the land." In the story of Qarun, Allah has declared Qarun guilty of "corruption in the land." Although he neither stole, nor looted, nor committed murder or bloodshed, nor did he do any of these acts. His "corruption in the land" was that the wealth he possessed included the rights of others, which he was not fulfilling. Similarly, if a person sells his goods by deception or by taking a false oath, even though society does not consider him corrupt, from the Islamic legal perspective he is corrupt. Because by deceit or false oath, he received more than the actual price of the item and caused harm to the buyer or usurped his right. In other words, "corruption" refers to the disorder in the system of human life that inevitably arises as a result of exceeding the limits of rights. In other words, whatever a person does while transgressing the commands of Allah is nothing but corruption, and the greatest corruption is the violation of Allah's rights or associating partners with Him (shirk).