al-Fasād is interpreted in six senses:
1. By al-Fasād, disobedience (maʿṣiya; rebellion/disobedience) is meant, as in the following verses:
When it is said to them, "Do not cause fasād on the earth" {that is, do not commit maʿṣiya in it}... (al-Baqara 2:11)
Do not cause fasād on the earth after its reformation {that is, do not commit maʿṣiya in it}. (al-Aʿrāf 7:56)
There are many similar verses.
2. By al-Fasād, destruction is meant, as in the following verses:
You will surely cause fasād on the earth twice. (al-Isrāʾ 17:4)
If there had been gods besides Allah in them, both would have been corrupted {that is, destroyed}. (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:22)
If the truth had followed their desires, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted {that is, destroyed}. (al-Muʾminūn 23:71)
3. By the term al-Fasād, scarcity of rain and vegetation/crops is meant; as in the following verse:
Fasād {that is, scarcity of rain and vegetation/crops} has appeared on the land {i.e., in the deserts inhabited by Bedouins} and sea {i.e., in cultivated areas, villages, towns, and cities}. (al-Rūm 30:41)
4. By al-Fasād, killing is meant; as in the following verses:
Will you leave Moses and his people to cause fasād on the earth {that is, to kill the children of the people of Egypt}? (al-Aʿrāf 7:127)
(Pharaoh said:) "I fear that he will change your religion or cause fasād on the earth {that is, in retaliation for your killing the sons of the Children of Israel, he will kill your sons}." (al-Muʾmin 40:26)
Indeed, Gog and Magog are causing fasād on the earth {that is, they are killing people}. (al-Kahf 18:94)
5. The term al-Fasād is used in the sense of fasād itself [to destroy/to ruin]; as in the following verses:
He strives to cause fasād in it: to destroy crops and progeny. But Allah does not like fasād {that is, the acts mentioned in the verse: the destruction of crops and progeny}. (al-Baqara 2:205)
Indeed, when kings enter a city, they ruin it (ifsād; that is, lay it waste). (al-Naml 27:34)
6. By the term al-Fasād, sorcery/magic and sorcerer/magician are meant; as in the following verse:
Indeed, Allah does not amend the work of the mufsidūn {that is, the magicians}. (Yūnus 10:81)