Explaining the Precedence of the Destruction of a

Fazel Bakhshayesh, Mohsen; Mansouri, Mohammadhadi

doi:10.22034/jksl.2025.504798.1438

Explaining the Precedence of the Destruction of a "Qaryah" over "Ba’s" in the Fourth Verse of Surah Al-A‘raf: The Transition from False Civilizations to the Era of ReappearanceAbstract

Articles in Press

Authors

mohsen fazel bakhshayesh ¹

mohammadhadi mansouri ²

¹ PhD student in Quran and Hadith Studies, Islamic Studies University of Qom

² Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith, Islamic Studies University

10.22034/jksl.2025.504798.1438

Abstract

Based on the fourth verse of Surah Al-A‘raf, divine Ba’s is sent down after the destruction of a Qaryah. Consequently, commentators have sought to explain the causal relationship between these two concepts, presenting various perspectives. This study, employing the tafsir al-Qur'an bil-Qur'an method and integrating it with the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), redefines the concept of Qaryah in the Qur'an and explores the relationship between its destruction and divine Ba’s. The findings indicate that Qaryah in the Qur'an refers to a structured system with a distinct ideology that claims to ensure human prosperity. Given that destruction (halāk) signifies the dissolution of an entity’s fundamental and defining characteristics, the destruction of a Qaryah denotes the collapse of its ideological claim. Furthermore, based on narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), divine Ba’s refers to the uprising of Imam al-Mahdi (AJ), which necessarily occurs after all political and cultural factions have lost their credibility. Accordingly, the fourth verse of Surah Al-A‘raf signifies the emergence of the Era of Reappearance following the discrediting of the false front that claims to secure human prosperity. Thus, the precedence of the destruction of a Qaryah over the descent of divine Ba’s is an inevitable necessity.

Keywords

The fourth verse of Surah Al-A&lsquo

raf؛ Qaryah؛ Destruction؛ Divine Ba&rsquo

s؛ Era of Reappearance

Subjects