Allah says in Surat al Isra:
وَإِذَاۤ أَرَدۡنَاۤ أَن نُّهۡلِكَ قَرۡیَةً أَمَرۡنَا مُتۡرَفِیهَا فَفَسَقُوا۟ فِیهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَیۡهَا ٱلۡقَوۡلُ فَدَمَّرۡنَـٰهَا تَدۡمِیرࣰا
“When We decide to destroy a town, We command those corrupted by wealth [to do good], but they persist in their disobedience; Our sentence is passed, and We destroy them utterly.” (Surat al Isra, 17:16)
This is a very well-known verse, one that we have read many times and reflected upon often. In this ayah, and in many others like it, Allah teaches us about the laws and patterns He has created. Those who follow His rules and commands will be successful in this world and the next. Those who reject His commands and disobey Him bring punishment upon themselves, in this life and the Hereafter.
Throughout the Qur’an, Allah repeatedly draws our attention to the fate of previous nations, such as ‘Ad and Thamud, about Fir‘awn and others who transgressed, and crossed the limits He set. Their stories are warnings for every generation. They remind us that corruption is forbidden, and that when corruption becomes normalised, destruction is not far behind. This applies not individuals, not just nations – whoever is involved in corruption, promotes it, or facilitates it, is complicit in it and becomes a partner in it.
In Ibn Khaldun’s renowned Muqaddimah, and in the works of others, we see the explanation for the rise and fall of civilisations, the pattern outlined in the Quran has been demonstrated.
What is especially striking in this ayah is that Allah mentions the mutrafeen– the affluent, powerful and influential among them.
The scholars of tafsir have commented on the words أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا. They have explained that it means that Allah commanded them with obedience, but they disobeyed. The word أَمَرْنَا, has been discussed by scholars due to the various possible pronunciations of the word, which alter the meaning. The accepted recitation by the majority reads it as amarna (with a light meem) meaning: “We commanded.” i.e. Allah commanded the affluent and powerful to obey Him, but they disobeyed and persisted in corruption. Those who pronounce it آمرنا (prolonging the alif) interpreted it as meaning “We increased their number.” Both are strong and authentic interpretations. There is a third reading where the meem is doubled meem – ammarna, which some scholars said means: “We made them leaders” or “We gave them authority.” In other words, the corrupt elite were placed at the forefront and then spread sin in society. This is not an authentic recitation, as Allah does not command immorality. Therefore, the widest accepted interpretation is the first – as confirmed by scholars of verification such as al-Qurtubi and al-Tabari.
Al-Shinqiti said, “We commanded them with obedience, but they disobeyed. This is supported by other verses, such as the saying of Allah:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِن نَّذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ كَافِرُونَ وَقَالُوا نَحْنُ أَكْثَرُ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ
“And We did not send to any town a warner except that its affluent ones said, ‘Indeed, we disbelieve in what you have been sent with.’ And they said, ‘We are greater in wealth and children, and we will not be punished.’”
The leaders of nations that will fall spread corruption
When the time comes for a town or nation to be called to account, it is often those with wealth, influence, and social standing who lead the way in disobedience. They are the ones who set the tone. They shape culture, direct power, influence morality, and normalise corruption.
For this reason, it is not a good sign when those at the forefront of society are the leaders of immorality and corruption. When the powerful fail to uphold ethical standards and instead use their status to spread disobedience, it is a sign that the fall of their nation is imminent.
Allah gives them opportunities to repent, sends warnings, and makes the truth clear to them. Yet they persist in rebellion. At that point, the divine decree becomes binding upon them.
This arrogance is a repeated pattern in history. Those who are intoxicated by wealth and power begin to imagine that their status protects them from accountability. They believe their wealth is proof of their superiority, and their influence is proof that they are safe from punishment. They can even go so far as to depict themselves as gods.
When corruption creeps across politics and the economy and the law courts, the system is rotten and leads to failure.
Many people try to explain the success or failure of nations through simple causes such as geography, culture, or the intelligence of a ruler. Yet these explanations are often incomplete. A country may have natural resources, a favourable location, or a rich culture and still remain trapped in weakness and corruption.
Likewise, a nation may have an outwardly impressive leader, yet still decline if the system beneath him is rotten. The deeper issue is the moral and institutional structure of the society itself.
In the book, Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, they explore a variety of reasons and argue that:
- Nations do not usually fail because of geography or bad luck.
They fail when corruption becomes rooted in the system itself. - The danger is not only corrupt people, but corrupt institutions.
Even good leaders struggle when the whole structure is built on injustice. - Power and wealth reinforce one another.
When a small elite captures power, it uses that power to protect its wealth, and uses its wealth to hold on to power. - Some corrupt nations survive for a while, but only temporarily.
Resources and wealth may delay collapse, but they do not remove the deeper corruption within the system. - Corrupt systems drain the people of motivation.
When ordinary people see that the system is rigged, they lose the drive to build, invest, and contribute. - Healthy societies allow renewal, corrupt ones resist it.
Elites often block reform because real change threatens their position. - Crises expose the true nature of a nation.
War, upheaval, and hardship reveal whether a society can reform itself or whether it will sink further into corruption. - The fall begins before the collapse is visible.
By the time a nation outwardly falls, its justice, morality, and accountability have usually already decayed from within.
The real danger to any nation is not only corrupt individuals, but corrupt institutions. When power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of a small elite, each strengthens the other, while ordinary people are excluded and demoralised. Some corrupt nations may survive for a time, especially when they are sustained by wealth or resources, but this only delays their fall.
Healthy societies allow renewal and reform, while corrupt ones resist change because it threatens those at the top. Times of crisis then expose the true nature of a nation, and by the time its collapse becomes visible, its inner decay has usually been present for years.
Nations do not always remain static. Sometimes they change through major turning points such as war, crisis, revolution, or severe upheaval. At other times, change happens gradually through a slow accumulation of reforms or, on the contrary, a slow deepening of corruption and injustice. Some nations recover because they correct their course, redistribute power more fairly, and allow reform to take root. Others remain trapped in corruption because the same circle of wealth and power keeps reproducing itself. This is why the fall of a nation rarely begins at the moment of visible collapse. Its downfall usually begins much earlier, when truth is ignored, justice is abandoned, and corruption becomes normal among those at the top.
It is our responsibility as Muslims to spread goodness, promote justice and to try our best to do the right thing. We have to keep trying. We see the failure of the international community in saving the people of Palestine from genocide. They were completely unsupported.
Unless we do our job as reformers and help drive change, to restore justice and fairnes, the warning from Allah is very clear. He said, “We have destroyed them.” Our ummah is protected from complete destruction because of the dua of the Prophet ﷺ who asked Allah not to let us become deleted from the map, as happened to previous nations.
عَامِرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَقْبَلَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ مِنَ الْعَالِيَةِ حَتَّى إِذَا مَرَّ بِمَسْجِدِ بَنِي مُعَاوِيَةَ دَخَلَ فَرَكَعَ فِيهِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَصَلَّيْنَا مَعَهُ وَدَعَا رَبَّهُ طَوِيلاً ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ إِلَيْنَا فَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ سَأَلْتُ رَبِّي ثَلاَثًا فَأَعْطَانِي ثِنْتَيْنِ وَمَنَعَنِي وَاحِدَةً سَأَلْتُ رَبِّي أَنْ لاَ يُهْلِكَ أُمَّتِي بِالسَّنَةِ فَأَعْطَانِيهَا وَسَأَلْتُهُ أَنْ لاَ يُهْلِكَ أُمَّتِي بِالْغَرَقِ فَأَعْطَانِيهَا وَسَأَلْتُهُ أَنْ لاَ يَجْعَلَ بَأْسَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ فَمَنَعَنِيهَا ” .
Amir bin Sa’d reported on the authority of his father that one day Allah’s Messenger ﷺ came from a high, land. He passed by the mosque of Banu Mu’awiya, went in and observed two rak’ahs there and we also observed prayer along with him and he made a long supplication to his Lord. He then came to us and said:
I asked my Lord three things and He has granted me two but has withheld one. I begged my Lord that my Ummah should not be destroyed because of famine and He granted me this. And I begged my Lord that my Ummah should not be destroyed by drowning (by deluge) and He granted me this. And I begged my Lord that there should be no bloodshed among the people of my Ummah, but He did not grant it. (Muslim)
Allah granted this dua. We may be immune from destruction, but not punishment. This is why we have to monitor ourselves and our community and our ummah for any corruption. If we see corruption, we have to raise our voices with wisdom to bring change. Everyone is responsible in his position.
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَلَا كُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ فَالْإِمَامُ الَّذِي عَلَى النَّاسِ رَاعٍ وَهُوَ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ وَالرَّجُلُ رَاعٍ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ وَهُوَ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ وَالْمَرْأَةُ رَاعِيَةٌ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتِ زَوْجِهَا وَوَلَدِهِ وَهِيَ مَسْئُولَةٌ عَنْهُمْ وَعَبْدُ الرَّجُلِ رَاعٍ عَلَى مَالِ سَيِّدِهِ وَهُوَ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْهُ أَلَا فَكُلُّكُمْ رَاعٍ وَكُلُّكُمْ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ
Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. A man is the guardian of his family and he is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them. The servant of a man is a guardian of the property of his master and he is responsible for it. No doubt, every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Do not say you are not a leader. You are! Whether you a parent or teacher or in any other position, you carry responsibility. We may not see the results but we have to try.
We must fight corruption, otherwise we will be included amongst those who are punished. We can already see our economy in decline. Corruption has many layers. It is not just a leader by himself who is corrupt, it is the institutions and systems that need to be reformed. We need to identify the corruption in each layer – from small scale to medium scale to large scale.
What makes a difference is when we are united and work together, then the ripple effects are powerful, and bring others with us on our journey. Just as the ripples become waves, the individuals create the community efforts and the unity of the ummah can create the waves. But there are no waves if the community, the mosque, and the ummah is divided.
May Allah protect us from being among those who normalise corruption, excuse immorality, or assist oppression in any form. May He make us among those who have the courage to uphold the truth, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and take heed from the rise and fall of nations before it is too late.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 17th April 2026