Allah the Exalted said: << وكان في المدينة تسعة رهط يفسدون في الأرض ولا يصلحون >

[Surat al-Naml:48] the city of Thamud.
[Surat al-Naml:48] meaning: men." The author said: meaning men. And *al-rahṭ*—correctly speaking—are men, but they said that *al-rahṭ* is between three and ten. Some of them said: between seven and ten, yes. So on this basis: nine *rahṭ*, does that become nine and nine? No, and for this reason the author explained *al-rahṭ* with what? With men, yes. *Al-rahṭ* was explained as men, not by its specific meaning, so that the genitive construction would be correct, because a thing is not added to itself except by way of interpretation.
And some of them said: there is no need for this interpretation, because the genitive here is explanatory, meaning that *rahṭ* is an explanation for nine, as if he said: nine men. And the meaning in any case! is that in this city—the city of Salih or the city of Thamud—there were nine men. Yes. And these nine were a subject for optimism and pessimism; one person would be pessimistic about the number nine, saying to them: nine came to cause corruption in the earth, [Surat al-Naml:48].
And one person would be optimistic about it. The Rafidah are pessimistic about ten and optimistic about nine. Who are the ten? Those given glad tidings of Paradise, but they exclude Ali ibn Abi Talib from them... who do they put in his place? But they are pessimistic about ten; their enemy is the number: ten, and their friend is: nine, because they say: they are the Ahl al-Bayt upon whom the Messenger placed the cloak, so he said to them, the Shaykh al-Islam: it is obligatory that if you are optimistic or pessimistic about numbers, that you be pessimistic?
The student: Eleven.

The Shaykh : No, be pessimistic about nine.
The student: About nine.

The Shaykh : Because it is he who said: [Surat al-Naml:48], whereas ten, the predominant view is that it is good, yes.
The student: ...?

The Shaykh : Yes. The ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, the ten days of Ramadan, and the ten given glad tidings of Paradise, and many examples do not come to my mind now, and I say: that the words of the Shaykh al-Islam here are to accommodate the opponent, otherwise he, may Allah have mercy on him, does not be optimistic about this or that; the number is a number, it did not bring anything.
[Surat al-Naml:48] With what? With sins. They corrupt in the earth with sins, and whenever Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, mentions corruption in the earth, the intended meaning is: sin, shirk (associating partners with Allah) and what is below it. Why? Because there is no doubt that the act of committing sins itself is corruption, is it not?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Then it is a cause of corruption, yes. [Surat al-A'raf:130].
And He, the Exalted, said: [Surat al-Rum:41], [Surat al-Shura:30]. So sins are themselves corruption, and they are also a cause of corruption, therefore whenever Allah, Glorified and Exalted, mentions corruption in the earth, the intended meaning is sins. They corrupt in the earth with sins, among which are: their clipping of the dinars and dirhams... they cut them, they ruin them, they trim from them, they trim from the dirhams and dinars, but this is an Israelite practice.
The student: Where is the evidence?

The Shaykh : It is an Israelite practice, there is no evidence, and it is not also the greatest of sins, this is correct that it is deception, but it is not the greatest of sins.
In any case! The most important thing is that they denied the message and disbelieved in the Creator, this is among the greatest of sins by which they corrupt in the earth.
And he said: [Surat al-Naml:48] they corrupt and do not reform, because its meaning is: that their corruption—may Allah protect us from it—is comprehensive, there is no reform at all, and this is the wisdom of his saying: [Surat al-Naml:48] and in it is a great benefit: and that is that success and corruption may meet at one time, just as a person may be a believer and an open sinner, he may have faith and disbelief in him, disobedience and obedience in him, corruption and reform in him, or not? So matters are either pure good and pure reform, or pure evil and pure corruption, or a mixture of the two. These people corrupt and do not reform—may Allah protect us from it—they do not reform with obedience at all, and this is proof that there is no pure good in them, there is no good in them at all, not little or much, but there are good people among them, who? Those who believed in Salih and followed him, but these nine *rahṭ* corrupt and do not reform, always their only concern is corruption in the earth with sins, and throwing fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) among people, and attempting to kill the reformers, for this reason: [Surat al-Naml:49] to the end of the verse.