Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And when it is said to them, ‘Do not cause corruption on the earth,’ they say, ‘Indeed, we are reformers.’”

Who is the one saying this? The believers are the ones saying it. And that is through their deception, their fraud, and their lying. Meaning, we are nothing but reformers. Praise be to Allah that they did not say, “We are the reformers.” If they had said, “We are the reformers,” it would have been a greater claim, meaning that there is no reformer other than us. But when they say, “We are reformers,” it does not preclude that others may be reformers. However, they restricted [the claim] by saying they are reformers, meaning there is no corruption in us.