"Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea." Some interpret this as follows: Corruption means destruction, meaning those who were destroyed among the nations of old due to their rejection of their messengers, Allah destroyed them on the land and in the sea. "That they might return," meaning so that those who come after them might return from their polytheism to faith and take a lesson from them.
﴿ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ﴾ تَفْسِيرُ بَعْضِهِمْ: الْفَسَادُ: الْهَلَاكُ، يَعْنِي: مِنْ أُهْلِكَ مِنَ الْأُمَمِ السَّالِفَةِ بِتَكْذِيبِهِمْ رُسُلَهُمْ أَهْلَكَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي بَرِّ الْأَرْضِ وَبَحْرِهَا ﴿لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ﴾ لَعَلَّ مَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ أَنْ يَرْجِعَوا عَنْ شِرْكِهِمْ إِلَى الْإِيمَانِ وَيَتَّعِظُوا بهم
