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DEPRAVITY
Depravity
literally means to become spoiled, going bad and deviate
from moderate way. Of something stop being useful and to
become harmful is “fesad” – depravity.
The word ifsat –
to spoil- which comes from the same root has the meanings
bof to ruin, to have gone bad, to make invalid. Müfsid
(intriguer) is someone who spoils, makes defeatism and corrupts.
The opposite of i depravity
is sulh –salah (peace and goodness). Sulh and salah
means being good, to improve to be mediator for good. Plural
of it “maslahat” expresses good behaviors, improvement
and useful things.
“Depravity”
as a concept in the Noble Quran is used in the sense to
cause disorder in the earth; to deviate people’s attitudes
and lives from the truth, to harm their worldly and religious
advantages.
Depravity
in the order of world:
Some people follow their
opinion and desires. They do not recognize the rules and
limits come from Allah. Such people try every way to attain
their desires and realize their wishes. They attack the
rights and freedom of people. So depravity in the world
is raised because of these people. Who makes idol his own
carnal passions cause depravity. However on the earth and
skies there is only one God, Allah. He set an order in the
earth and skies. For people’s living in an order free
from depravity, he sent prophets and religion. That is he
sent a system of divine rules. These rules provide the order
among people and in society and prevent depravity.
“Enbiya Suresi
– 217/22)
Hypocrites and unbelievers who cause depravity in the world
are coward and greedy. So they help each other in ever way.
Especially they are supporter of each other to cause depravity.
Against these depraved ones, correctors –Muslims-
should cooperate more. Quran openly commands this “Enfal
Suresi 8/73)
What are the depraved
deeds?
They can be grouped
in three topics:
1.
To Violate Divine Rights:
To deny the Lord of
the Universe, Allah not to recognize his Oneness, or to
detain people from his way, is all depravity and it causes
great torment. (1) Prophet Salih told his people not to
detain others from the way of Allah, stated this act as
“depravity” and warned them that the end of
the depraved ones will not be good. (2)
To deny the religion
of Allah which he sent by his Prophets; to oppose it, is
a kind of “depravity”. People who are in depravity
are the cruel ones. (3)
The Noble Quran defined
people who opposed to the religion delivered by all prophets
and to the order of peace and happiness that they tried
to establish, as (intriguer - depraved) and the deeds of
defeatism and confusion as “depravity”. All
communities which cause depravity throughout history have
been greatly disappointed. This defeatism has had no use
for them. As a matter of fact Prophet Shuayb warned his
people who oppose him by saying ‘don’t be depraved
ones’. But the people of Medyen denied him. So they
were punished. (4)
Pharaoh’s and
notables of his people’s disobedience to Prophet Moses,
the system of oppression they found, the wrongfulness against
the verses revealed and becoming haughty is anything but
“depravity”. (5)
Prophets’ duty
is in belief and in social order to put everything of which
places and aims are deviated, spoiled and turned to wrong,
into proper place and to correct the man and his life.
But in spite of their
all efforts, in every period of time a group of people opposed
to them and tried to prevent the Prophets. These kinds of
people want the continuation of confusion, disorder, system
of exploitation and oppression. This is “depravity”.
(6)
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1. Chapter Nahl, 16/88
2. Chapter A’raf, 7/85-87
3. Chapter Yunus, 10/39-42
4. Chapter Ankebut, 29/36-37
5. Chapter A’raf, 7/103
6. The Basic Concepts of Islam, H.K.ECE
2.
To Violate the People’s Rights:
The field in which depravity is most common is invasion
of people’s rights. The most important of this is
the unjust attack to the living right of a person. The Noble
Quran regards someone’s killing another in an unjust
way as “killing the whole people” (1) One of
the most severe punishments in Islamic criminal Law is given
to the people who kill someone unjustly.
“Depravity”
is a concept that symbolizes to oppose a system that is
tried to be established on the basis of principles; goodness,
beauty, righteousness and justice. All badness against the
system of justice and peace are “depravity”.
In this sense, robbery, deception in measures and weight,
to upset public order, to destroy commercial and economic
life, going astray by exceeding the limits of rights and
justice, to do defeatism, or to cause it, to divide people
into groups to weaken them, cruel administrators’
desire for rule, passion for power, and to deviate to all
kinds of excess are the kinds of depravity that are harmful
to people’s rights.
3.
Depraved Behaviors in respect of Morals:
Neglect of moral rules
set by Islam is also considered as “depravity”
in the Noble Quran. For example, to cause evil by practicing
sorcery, breaking the ties of kinship, telling lies, not
to help one Muslim to another , the shameful acts of people
in Sodom&Gomorah (people of Lut), to feel proud of by
collecting property and wealth and attempt to dominate people
and similar behaviors are all “depravity” .
In short everything
that endangers the safety of life, property, generation,
religion and mind is “depravity” that does these
is intriguer and these harmful deeds are -intrigue-.
What
Are the Consequences of depravity?
Doubtlessly people face
the retaliation what they deserve, whether they are good
or bad. Mufsits who plot mischief in different ways and
who tries to upset divine order, morals of people and societies,
their products and generations, who attack their rights
and cause oppression and turn the state of happiness into
confusion and unhappiness, meets their due punishment. The
Noble Quran tells that Allah knows the depraved deeds and
who commit them, that he is informed what they do, so absolutely
he will give what they deserve. (2)
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(1) Chapter Maide, 5/32
(2) Chapter Al-i Imran, 3/63.
Allah (c.c) curses the
ones who plot mischief (fesat), who violate a solemn agreement,
break the ties which he wanted to have united and inform
them he prepared the worst of the lands - hell for them.
Because of the people’s
deeds both in the land and sea, confusion is seen. So peace
of societies is upside down, rights are violated and even
the balance of nature is destroyed. Who caused this depravity,
confusion is faced with a part of what they deserve in this
world. Sometimes they meet with misfortune and sometimes
they are perished. There are lots of examples of this in
history. (2)
For example people of
Medyen who neglected what Prophet Suayb told and who did
not give up depraved deeds, People of Semud who becomes
haughty and ridicule with the Prophet Salih who warned them
by saying “worship to Allah and do not plot mischief
on the earth”, immoral community neglected Prophet
Lot who invited them to be chaste, all are punished in different
ways. There will be torment after torment in the next world
for who denies the verses of Allah who are estranged from
his invitation and attempt mischief. (3)
First of all Muslims
should be bettered and remain distant from depraved acts.
Then by supporting each other they struggle against instigation
(fitne) and a similar of it depravity. They don’t
give opportunity to acts which cause instigation and depravity.
They resist against intriguers, they do not tolerate intriguers
for doing their spoil easily. When Muslims do not perform
this task depravity spread around the world. (4)
Muslims do not follow
intriguers; they do not support them by no means, their
systems, ideas and actions. They know the mentality of depravity
well and struggle against it as wise people. (5)
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(1) Chapter Ra’d, 13/25
(2) Chapter Rum, 30/41-42
(3) Chapter Nahl, 16/88
(4) Chapter Enfal, 8/73
(5) Chapter R’ad, 13/22.
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