What is the ruling on the phrase "Evil is widespread, and good is specific," and is it connected to what is mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah regarding the prevalence of sins without rectification leading to God's destruction?

The speaker of the phrase "Evil is widespread, and good is limited" is unknown. This phrase is famously used to justify collective punishment, which is invalid. The principle of reward and punishment dictates that only the doer of an action bears its consequences, in fulfillment of Allah's saying: ﴿Whoever does righteousness, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil, it is against it. And your Lord is not ever unjust to His servants﴾ [Fussilat: 46] and His saying: ﴿And every soul earns not [consequences] except for itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another﴾ [Al-An'am: 164].

The texts indicating that the effects of sins may encompass both the righteous and the wicked in this world, such as Allah's saying: ﴿And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively﴾ [Al-Anfal: 25] and the Hadith about the army being swallowed by the earth, do not negate the Sharia rule against punishing the innocent. Rather, they refute the saying itself from several angles: 1. The assertion that every evil has a widespread effect is inaccurate. Evil does not become widespread unless it is prevalent and dangerous, and the prevalence of evil in societies results from abandoning enjoining good and forbidding evil. 2. The saying claims that good does not have a widespread effect, while the texts indicate that good also has a widespread effect when its adherents are numerous. 3. If a general punishment afflicts a righteous person who upholds enjoining good and forbidding evil, it befalls them as a trial, not a punishment. Such suffering can be martyrdom for a believer. 4. Whoever uses this saying to punish the innocent has deviated from Allah's law and exceeded the limits of their human capability, for Allah knows what is hidden and punishes with His wisdom.

The general affliction that befalls people does not necessarily have to be a punishment for the righteous and pious; rather, it is a trial for them, and it may lead to an elevation of their ranks. It is essential to differentiate between what Allah decrees and what He legislates. Allah has enjoined justice for everyone, upon everyone, and in every situation.