'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (corruption doth appear) transgression has appeared (on land) from cain who killed his brother abel (and sea) from jalandan al-azdi (because of (the evil) which men's hands have done) due to the killing of abel by cain and jalandan's seizure of people's ships in the sea; it is also said that this means: corruption has appeared through the death of cattle, drought, lack of food and vegetation in the plains, mountains, countryside and wilderness as well as in townships and cities because of the transgressions committed by people, (that he may make them taste) that he may make them be seized by (a part of that which they have done) of transgressions, (in order that they may return) in order that they may repent of their sins and thus be relieved.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : corruption has appeared on land, in the wastelands, because of the rain being withheld and the vegetation diminishing, and on sea, in lands near rivers because of their waters diminishing, because of what people’s hands have perpetrated, of acts of disobedience, that he may make them taste (li-yudhīqahum; or [may be read] li-nudhīqahum, ‘that we may make them taste’) something of what they have done, that is, the punishment for it, that perhaps they may repent.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : corruption has appeared on land and sea…he said:god, exalted is he, has made the land a similitude of the bodily members and the sea a similitudeof the heart. it [the sea, and therefore the heart] is more widely beneficial (aʿamm nafʿan), and much more dangerous (akthar khaṭaran). this is the inner meaning of the verse — do you not see that the heart (qalb) was thus named due to its tendency to turn (taqallub), and due to the extent of its depth (ghawr). this is why the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> said to abū al-dardāʾ <img border="0" src="images/radeyallahanhom.jpg" width="24" height="22">, ‘overhaul the ship, for the sea is deep.’ in other words, ‘make afresh your intention (nīya) for god, exalted is he, from your heart, for the sea is deep.’ therefore [with this renewed intention(nīya)], when the trafficking (muʿāmala) goes on in the hearts, which [as we have seen] are [like] seas, the self will leave its place at the centre, and the bodily members will come torest. thereafter, with each day, the possessor of [the sea of the heart] will find himself closer to its ultimate depth and further away from his self until he reaches ⸢him⸣. he was asked about the meaning of the [saying of] the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22">, ‘whoever humbles himself before a person of wealth will lose two thirds of his religion.’ he replied:the heart has three stations: the principal part (jumhūr) of the heart; the station of the tongue in relationship to the heart, and the station of the bodily members in relationship to the heart. his words, ‘has lost two thirds of his religion’ means that two out of the three were involved, the tongue and the rest of the bodily members, but the principal part of the heart remained in its place, for no one can reach that because it is the seat of his faith (īmān) within the heart.then he said:truly, the heart is delicate (raqīq) and everything affects it, so guard over it carefully, and fear god with it.he was asked, ‘when does the heart become purified of all corruption (fasād) ?’ he replied:it does not become purified until it abandons all conjecture (ẓann) and scheming (ḥiyal) — for it is as if scheming in the eyes of your lord is [as bad] as a major sin to our eyes. indeed, the prophet <img border="0" src="images/salatonmassenger.jpg" width="24" height="22"> said: ‘righteousness (birr) is what causes an expansion within your breast, and iniquity (ithm) is what sows intrigue (ḥāka) in your breast, even if those who are authorised to give out legal rulings provide you with [legal] fatwā upon fatwā [to the contrary]. then he [sahl] said:if the heart is perturbed, that will be evidence (ḥujja) against you.his words:
