Oase: Tafsir Al-Baqoroh Verse 205 and Severe Threats to Destroyers of the Natural Environment

darulmaarif.net – Indramayu, 08 December 2025 | 20.00 WIB

“Whoever cuts down a date palm tree or destroys agricultural land without rights, he has done damage to the earth, and Allah does not like those who do damage.” — Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad SAW

rich natural preservation and deep ecological scars. In the latest wave of disasters, the province was one of the regions hardest hit by floods and landslides that claimed lives and paralyzed infrastructure. International media reports describe the scale of the disaster, requiring huge reconstruction funds and creating a health crisis and a need for temporary housing.

Satellite imagery and forest cover monitoring data have also highlighted significant loss of natural forests in recent years — a reality that magnifies the risk of landslides and flooding. At the local level, civil environmental organizations (WALHI Aceh) have detected a number of cases of encroachment and illegal logging which are changing land functions and disrupting the livelihoods of indigenous communities and local farmers. This empirical condition shows that the ecological threat in Aceh is not merely natural, but is also the result of human decisions that ignore sustainability.

In Aceh, the veranda of Mecca, once known as a green land with dense tropical forests, is now grappling with an ecological nightmare. BNPB data as of December 6 2025 recorded that devastating floods and landslides claimed 916 lives in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, with Aceh the worst hit: 346 died, 174 missing and 775,342 refugees, especially in Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, North Aceh and Bireuen. Walhi Aceh revealed the dark facts: 5,000 hectares of protected forest in West Aceh were destroyed due to illegal gold mining over five years, plus tens of thousands of hectares in South Aceh, Pidie, and Nagan Raya were damaged by deforestation, river pollution and watersheds. This illegal mining is not just an illegal economy, but a time bomb that will trigger flash floods in November-December 2025, destroying 27,023 houses, 12,782 ha of rice fields, and isolating villages. When the ground is wet with the blood of victims and the water is murky with mercury waste, Al-Baqoroh 205 rings loudly:

And when he took power, he endeavored throughout the land to spread corruption there and destroy the crops and their offspring. And God does not like corruption.

Meaning: “And when he turns away, he intends to destroy the earth and destroy its plants and offspring, even though Allah does not like damage.” (QS. Al-Baqoroh Verse 205)

This verse is not just a historical narrative about Al-‘Ashiyy bin Rizhzal, a hypocrite who pretended to be generous before Rosululloh SAW but turned into a destroyer of nature. Tafsir Ibn Kathir in Spring al-Qur’an al-‘Adzhim (volume 1, pp. 265-266, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1999) explains: “sa’ā fil-ardli liyufsida fīhā” means systematic efforts to damage nature, including “yuhlikal-hartsa wan-nasla” (damaging plants and animal/human offspring). Imam Ibnu Kathir quoted Mujahid: destroyers like this trigger Allah to stop the rain, plants die and livestock become extinct.

In the book Tafasir Zahratut, Sheikh Abu Zahrah said:

Based on the second thing, what is meant by “he takes over the duties of being governor” is a person who attracts the people’s trust with bright hopes, misleading statements, false beliefs, and language in arguments, if his goals are achieved, and his requests are achieved, and he becomes governor of the people. He does not seek to benefit them, or establish rights among them, but seeks to gratify his desires, and govern society for himself, not for them.

Meaning: “Based on the second interpretation, namely that the word humble means being a leader, a person who succeeds in gaining the public’s trust with sweet promises, deceptive statements, false oaths, and cleverness in arguing; when he had obtained what he wanted, achieved his ambitions, and finally became a leader for humans, then he did not try to benefit them, did not establish the truth in their midst. On the contrary, he seeks to satisfy his own desires, and he rules people for his own interests, not for their benefit. (Zahratut Tafasir, [Darul Fikr al-‘Arabi: t.th.]juz II, halalam 642)

Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuthi in Tafsir al-Jalalain (p. 45, Dar al-Ma’rifah, Beirut, 1995) firmly: “al-hartsa” agricultural plants, “an-nasl” generations of animals and humans, so that the ecological facade includes a double sin: destroying Allah’s creation and leaving poverty for future children and grandchildren.

Empirical evidence from Aceh confirms that what the sacred texts condemn is not just rhetoric. Forest cover loss statistics in this province show an alarming figure, where a large proportion of tree cover loss occurs in natural forests—a phenomenon that triggers the release of carbon emissions and reduces groundwater absorption. The illegal logging case reported by WALHI Aceh adds to the picture that economic pressure and negligence in supervision are the main triggers. When forests decrease, disaster buffer ecosystems—such as slope barriers and catchment areas—disappear.

The destruction of Aceh was not an organic fate of nature, but rather a structural sin caused by greedy human hands, similar to Al-‘Ashiyy who “tawallā” (turned away) from piety to greed.

In Surah Al-A’raf verse 56;

And do not spread evil on the face of the earth after it has been laid out, and pray to Him with fear and hope. Indeed, Allah’s mercy is close to those who do good.

It means; “Do not cause harm on the face of the earth which has been well laid out. Pray to Him with fear and hope. Indeed, Allah’s mercy is very close to those who do good.” (QS. Al-A’raf Verse 56)

Imam Ibnu Hajar reflected that caliphs on earth are obliged to preserve, not exploit. Sheikh Wahbah az-Zuhaili in Al-Wajiz fi Tafsir al-Kitab al-‘Aziz (vol. 1, p. 178, Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, Beirut, 2005) modernization: Modern façades such as industrial pollution, illegal mining in Aceh, are the same as mass murder – Allah hates it because religion is damaged (trust is lost) and the world (the ecosystem is collapsing).

Listen to the following testimony of Sheikh Wahbah az-Zuhaily:

The earth and all its gifts, benefits and treasures available to humanity, all come from God’s grace and grace. It is a field of experimentation and observatory of human behavior.

Meaning: “Indeed, the earth and all its contents, including goodness, benefits and hidden treasures, which are intended for humans, are part of Allah’s blessings and gifts. This earth is also a testing field and a place for observing human behavior.” (Tafsirul Munir, [Beirut: Darul Fikr, 1991 M]Volume XIX, p. 24).

This article is not just a textual study, but an urgent appeal to all humanity. Al-Baqoroh verse 205 is not a metaphor, but an explicit threat: Allah does not like facades, and Aceh is paying the price—346 lives lost, 775 thousand displaced, buildings reduced to rubble, rice fields submerged. When the forests are bare and the rivers are murky with mercury, we repeat Al-‘Ashiyy’s sin: a pretend benefactor, a real destroyer. It’s time for us to rise up as exemplary caliphs of the earth: implementing ecological law, raiding illegal mines, and collective repentance.

Finally, the verse Al-Baqoroh verse 205 asks a disturbing ethical question: when the sacred text unequivocally condemns those who “try to cause destruction on the face of the earth,” are today’s people brave enough to enforce the law and improve policies to restore the ecological mandate? Or will we allow momentary interests and destructive economic structures to postpone this moral responsibility—until future generations receive only the ruins of destruction and deadly disaster?

Hope it is useful. Wallohu a’lam.