“And do not spread corruption in the land after it has been set right”: that is, do not corrupt it through acts of disobedience and by calling people to anything other than obedience to Allah, after Allah has set it right by sending the messengers, making the Sacred Law clear, and calling people to obey Allah. This is the meaning of the statement of al-Hasan, al-Suddi, al-Dahhak, and al-Kalbi.

Atiyyah said: “Do not disobey in the land, lest Allah withhold the rain and destroy the crops because of your sins.” According to this view, the meaning of His words, “after it has been set right,” is: after Allah has set it right through rain and fertility.

“And call upon Him in fear and hope”: that is, in fear of Him and of His punishment, and in hope of the forgiveness and reward that are with Him. Ibn Jurayj said: “Fear of His justice and hope in His bounty.” “Indeed, Allah’s mercy is near to those who do good.” The verse does not use the feminine form of “near.” Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: Mercy here means reward, so the description follows the intended meaning rather than the word itself, as in His saying:

“And when the division is attended by relatives, orphans, and the needy, then provide for them from it.” [al-Nisa 8]

He used the masculine form minhu (“from it”) rather than the feminine minha, because what is intended is inheritance and wealth.

Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad said: “In Arabic, the terms qarib (near) and ba'id (far) are alike with respect to masculine and feminine, singular and plural.” Abu Amr ibn al-Ala said: “In Arabic, qarib may refer to kinship or to physical distance. The Arabs say, ‘This woman is qaribah to you,’ when they mean kinship; and, ‘She is qarib to you,’ when they mean distance.”

“He is the One who sends the winds as bearers of glad tidings before His mercy, until, when they carry heavy clouds, We drive them to a dead land, then send down rain upon it and bring forth thereby every kind of fruit. Thus We bring forth the dead, so that you may take heed.” (57)