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wa-lā tufsidū fī l-ʾarḍi baʿda ʾiṣlāḥihā wa-dʿūhu khawfan wa-ṭamaʿan ʾinna raḥmata llāhi qarībun mina l-muḥsinīna
And do not cause corruption on the earth after its restoration, and supplicate Him with fear and hope: indeed Allah’s mercy is close to the virtuous.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-‘A’raf, Verse 56
56. "And do not make mischief in the earth after its improvement and call on Him in fear and hope; surely the mercy of Allah is nigh to the good-doers."
The previous verse referred to the relation of the servants of Allah with their Lord, and here, the relation of people is pointed out. Between the previous verse and this verse, there has come the phrase: "And do not make mischief in the earth ..."in order to point out that oral supplication should be accompanied with practical effort for the social improvement. Then, offering a bare supplication by tongue and making mischief in practice, is not effective.
This verse and the former-one have pointed to the conditions of the perfection of supplication, before Allah (S.w.T.), as well as its rites and the necessary circumstances of its acceptance. Some of them are as follows: A supplication is better to be accompanied with humiliation. A supplication should be done hidden and aloof from any hypocrisy and dissimulation. It must be performed with both fear and hope, and without violating the boundaries of truth.
There must not be any form of making mischief in it.
Explanations
1. An improved society may be exposed to danger:
2. Those revolutionists who want to reform are not free from applying gnosis, supplication, and close communion.
3. If there be not- a moderate fear and hope in supplication, it will tend towards mischief.
4. A believer should always he between the states of fear and hope. This moderation is called 'goodness' by Allah. Goodness is a preparation and cause of receiving the mercy of Allah.
Therefore, without having goodness, the expectation of a person for receiving the mercy of Allah is undue. The verse says: