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wa-ttaqū fitnatan lā tuṣībanna lladhīna ẓalamū minkum khāṣṣatan wa-ʿlamū ʾanna llāha shadīdu l-ʿiqābi
And beware of a punishment, which shall not visit the wrongdoers among you exclusively, and know that Allah is severe in retribution.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Anfal – Verse 25
25 . “And keep from the evil of an affliction which shall not smite in particular those of you who committed injustice (but all of you); and know that Allah is severe in retribution.”
The content of the previous verse was upon the acceptance of the Prophet's invitation to ‘the goodly life’. Here, in this, verse, the Qur’an says if you do not accept his invitation you will be involved with an affliction whose fire encompasses everyone. The verse says:
The Arabic term /fitnah/ has been applied in the sense of idolatry, infidelity, trial, torture, and so on. The former verse ordained to the obedience from the Prophet (S) while here, in this verse, the command is unto ‘being in awe of an affliction’. It is understood that the lack of obedience from the Prophet (S) is 'affliction'. Thus the concept of the verse is the same concept as the Surah, Al-i-‘Imran, No. 3, verse 103, which is recited3:
Mischief and indecency destroys the entity of a system, and its damage reaches everybody. One of the examples of this meaning was the mischief of the rulers of Umayyads. They put aside the mastership of ‘the leader of the truth’ and, consequently, they set the Muslims into abasement for centuries. When this verse was revealed, the Prophet (S) said:
“Whoever transgresses in Ali's vicegerency after my death, it is as if he has denied my messengership and the prophethood of the prophets before me.” 4
Thus, the members of a society, besides their own duties, should feel responsibility for the deeds of others, since the reflections of everybody's evil actions may afflict the surrounding people, too. It is similar to the person who is inside a ship and makes a hole in it. By his action, he causes that all the people in the ship to be-drowned. Therefore, neither you yourself make a mischief, nor adhere with the mischief makers, nor be silent when they make mischief: “And keep from the evil of an affliction”; and do know that being in awe of the evil of affliction is ‘awareness’, not ‘resignation’.
We must be aware not to be involved with the evil afflictions and disturbances when they come forth. Ali (as) says:
“During evil disturbances be like an adolescent camel that has neither a back strong enough for riding nor udders for milking.” 5
The Prophet (S) in a tradition has said:
“When seditions appear among the community, be with Ali, although he is alone.” 6
Footnotes