Quran, Culture And Civilization

Quran, Culture And Civilization

Explaining the Precedence of the Destruction of Qaryah over Divine Punishment (Ba’s) in Verse 4 of Surah Al-A’raf; Transition from False Civilizations to the Era of Appearance

Authors
mohsen fazel bakhshayesh 1
mohammadhadi mansouri 2
1 PhD Student in Quran and Hadith Studies, University of Islamic Sciences and Teachings, Qom, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith, University of Islamic Sciences and Teachings, Qom, Iran.
10.22034/jksl.2025.504798.1438
Abstract
 According to the fourth verse of Surah Al-A’raf, divine punishment (Ba’s) descends after the destruction of a settlement (Qaryah). For this reason, interpreters have sought to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between these two concepts, presenting various and numerous viewpoints. The present research, employing the method of Quranic exegesis with the Quran and integrating it with the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), while redefining the concept of Qaryah in the Holy Quran, has investigated the relationship between the destruction of Qaryah and divine Ba’s. The research findings indicate that the concept of Qaryah in the Holy Quran refers to a structured system with a specific ideology and the claim of ensuring human happiness. Since the concept of destruction (Halakah) refers to the decay of fundamental and constitutive characteristics of a thing, the destruction of Qaryah means the annihilation of the claim of that structured system to provide true human happiness. On the other hand, by relying on the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt (AS), the intended meaning of divine Ba’s is the uprising of Imam Mahdi (AJ), which will necessarily occur after the complete discrediting of all political and cultural groups and schools of thought. Based on these findings, the fourth verse of Surah Al-A’raf indicates the occurrence of the Era of Advent following the discrediting of the front of falsehood in its claim to provide human happiness. Therefore, the precedence of the destruction of Qaryah over the descent of divine Ba’s is a necessary and inevitable matter.
 
 
 
Keywords
Verse 4 of Surah Al-A&‌‌rsquo
raf, Qaryah, Destruction (Halakah), Divine Punishment (Ba&‌‌rsquo
s), Era of Appearance (Advent)
Subjects
Qurʾān Karīm.
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  • Receive Date 26 February 2025
  • Revise Date 13 May 2025
  • Accept Date 19 May 2025
  • Publish Date 21 April 2026