Do they not see how many generations We laid low before them, whom We had firmly established in the land as We have not established you, and showered abundant rain on them, and made rivers lap at their feet, yet whom We destroyed for their sins, and raised new generations after them?
Do they not see how many civilisations We destroyed before them, whom We had established more firmly in the earth than We have established you, and We sent on them abundant rain from the sky, and made the rivers flow beneath them? So we destroyed them because of their sins, and created another civilisation after them.
Have they not regarded how We destroyed before them many a generation We established in the earth, as We never established you, and how We loosed heaven upon them in torrents, and made the rivers to flow beneath them? Then We destroyed them because of their sins, and raised up after them another generation;
Do they not see how many a generation We have destroyed before their time - [people] whom We had given a [bountiful] place on earth, the like of which We never gave unto you, and upon whom We showered heavenly blessings abundant, and at whose feet We made running waters flow? And yet we destroyed them for their sins, and gave rise to other people in their stead.
Observe they not how many a generation before them We have destroyed whom We had established on the earth as We have not established you, and upon whom We had sent the rains of heaven pouring and under whom We had made the rivers flow; yet We destroyed them for their sins and We produced after them a generation of others.
Have they not seen how many a generation before them We have destroyed whom We had established on the earth such as We have not established you? And We poured out on them rain from the sky in abundance, and made the rivers flow under them. Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and created after them other generations.
Have they not considered how many generations We destroyed before them? We had established them on earth more firmly than We established you, and We sent the clouds pouring down abundant rain on them, and We made rivers flow beneath them. But We destroyed them for their sins, and established other civilizations after them.
Have they not seen how many a people We have destroyed before them? People whom We had made more powerful in the earth than you are and upon them We showered from the heavens abundant rains, and at whose feet We caused the rivers to flow? And then (when they behaved ungratefully) We destroyed them for their sins, and raised other peoples in their place.
Have they not seen how many a generation before them We have destroyed whom We had established on the earth such as We have not established you And We poured out on them rain from the sky in abundance, and made the rivers flow under them. Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and created after them other generations.
See they not how many a generation We destroyed before them, whom We had established in the earth more firmly than We have established you, and We shed on them abundant showers from the sky, and made the rivers flow beneath them. Yet we destroyed them for their sins, and created after them another generation.
Have they not regarded how many a generation We have destroyed before them whom We had granted power in the land in respects that We did not grant you, and We sent abundant rains for them from the sky and made streams run for them? Then We destroyed them for their sins, and brought forth another generation after them.
Have they not seen how many generations We have destroyed before them whom We had established in the land in a way We never established you, sending down for them abundant water from the sky and made the rivers to flow underneath them? Yet because they sinned, We destroyed them and raised up other generations after them.
Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them which We had established upon the earth as We have not established you? And We sent [rain from] the sky upon them in showers and made rivers flow beneath them; then We destroyed them for their sins and brought forth after them a generation of others.
Why do they not consider how many generations living before them We have destroyed. We established those nations in the land with abilities far beyond those given to you. We sent down plenty of rain from the sky for them and made streams flow therein, but, then, We destroyed them for their sins and established other nations after them.
Do they not consider how many a generation We have destroyed before them, whom We had established in the earth as We have not established you, and We sent the clouds pouring rain on them in abundance, and We made the rivers to flow beneath them, then We destroyed them on account of their faults and raised up after them another generation.
Alam yaraw kam ahlakn<u>a</u> min qablihim min qarnin makkann<u>a</u>hum fee alar<u>d</u>i m<u>a</u> lam numakkin lakum waarsaln<u>a</u> a<b>l</b>ssam<u>a</u>a AAalayhim midr<u>a</u>ran wajaAAaln<u>a</u> alanh<u>a</u>ra tajree min ta<u>h</u>tihim faahlakn<u>a</u>hum bi<u>th</u>unoobihim waanshan<u>a</u> min baAAdihim qarnan <u>a</u>khareen<b>a</b>
Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them? We established them on the earth more firmly than you, and We sent the clouds over them, pouring down abundant rain; and made the rivers flow at their feet. Yet We destroyed them for their sins, and raised up other generations after them.
See they not how many of those before them We did destroy?- generations We had established on the earth, in strength such as We have not given to you - for whom We poured out rain from the skies in abundance, and gave (fertile) streams flowing beneath their (feet): yet for their sins We destroyed them, and raised in their wake fresh generations (to succeed them).
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ مَّكَّنَّٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَا لَمْ نُمَكِّن لَّكُمْ وَأَرْسَلْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْهِم مِّدْرَارًا وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرَ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَٰهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَأَنشَأْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْنًا ءَاخَرِينَ
Do these disbelievers not know Allah’s custom of destroying communities who do wrong? Allah had destroyed, prior to them, many communities whom He had established in the earth with more stability than them. Allah sent down successive rains upon them and made rivers flow beneath their homes; yet they then went against Him, so He destroyed them because of the sins they committed. Then, after them, He established other communities.
Do these disbelievers not know Allah’s custom of destroying communities who do wrong? Allah had destroyed, prior to them, many communities whom He had established in the earth with more stability than them. Allah sent down successive rains upon them and made rivers flow beneath their homes; yet they then went against Him, so He destroyed them because of the sins they committed. Then, after them, He established other communities.
<p>Commentary</p><p>In previous verses, mention was made of grave consequences to be faced by those who avoid or oppose Divine commandments and prophetic teachings. In the present verses, the same deniers of the truth have been given an opportunity to learn and correct themselves by observing conditions around them as well as those prevailing in times before them. No doubt, events of the past are documents full of chastening lessons which, if seen to find wisdom, would prove to be more effective than a thousand sermons. So, still valid is the saying of the sage: The world is the best book and time, the best teacher. That is why wisdom-based historical anecdotes form a good part of the Holy Qur'an. But, speaking generally, people have not given world history any serious role in conducting lives properly. They have, rather than benefiting from it, made it into an intellectual pastime which would either help to sleep or to while away spare time.</p><p>Perhaps, it is for this reason that the Holy Qur'an has taken the essence of history as a server of warning and a dispenser of good counsel. But, this is unlike the customary historical fiction where the story or the event are an end in themselves. So, the Qur'an has not taken up historical events as ongoing events in their own right. Instead of doing something like that, it has chosen to place part of the narrative as relevant to the given subject and setting of the message in the text. Then, there would be another occasion, another place, when it would describe another part of the story as relevant there. This may be indicative of the reality that a report or story is not an end by itself, instead, the purpose is to identify the outcome of the report and the practical implication of the event, therefore, one should be concerned with what is necessary for the objective in sight, move ahead and survey his circumstances in that light - that is, learn that vital lesson from what has gone before and thereby correct oneself.</p><p>In the first verse, it was said about the people of Makkah, the direct addressees of the Holy Prophet ﷺ : أَلَمْ يَرَ‌وْا كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْ‌نٍ Havethey not seen how many generations We have destroyed prior to them?' Here, ` seen' means to ponder about, because these generations were not present before them at that time to see. It was after that, that the destruction of many generations (` qarn' ) was mentioned.</p><p>The word, قَرن qarn, is used for a group of people collectively present at a given time and period. It is also used to denote a long period of time which could be, depending on different interpretations, between ten to one hundred years. But, some events and narrations do support the position that this word is used for one hundred years as it appears in a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ii had told Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Busr al-Ma'ziniyy that he will live for one Qarn. Also when the Holy Prophet ﷺ prayed for a certain child that may he live for a whole qarn, he did live for a full one hundred years. The majority of ` Ulama' take the famous Hadith خَیرُالقُرونِ قَرنِی ثُمَّ الَّذین یلونھُم ثُمَ الَّذینَ یَلُونَھُم (still recited as part of the Khutbah of Jumu'ah all over the world) to be meaning exactly this, that is, every qarn is one hundred years.</p><p>About past peoples of the world, first it was said that the kind of power and well-being given to them was not given to people later than them, but when these very people took to the ways of belying prophets and disobeying Divine injunctions, all that majesty of power and wealth was rendered futile against the punishment of Allah which annihilated them totally. So, this was a lesson for the addressees of today, the people of Makkah who did not have the power of the legendary people of ` Ad and Thamud, nor the affluence of the people of Syria and Yaman. For them, the need of the hour was to learn a lesson from what happened to the peoples of the past and turn towards an examination of their doings and think where they are going to end up by op-posing the truth.</p><p>At the end of the verse, it was said: وَأَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْ‌نًا آخَرِ‌ينَ (and raised up, after them, another generation). It means that the great power of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu was not simply limited to seeing that nations of strength, authority and power lay destroyed in a flash, but it was right there on the ashes of their destruction that other peoples were made to rise and populate places, as if nothing had happened there and no one was missing from the scene. This spectacle of Divine power and wisdom is something observable in its own ways during every time and period when thousands die every day but there is no vacuum left anywhere. We never come to realize that people who belonged here are not here anymore.</p><p>Once, while on the plains of Arafat with a million men and women spread around, came the thought that only a mere seventy or eighty years earlier, none among this whole assembly of people existed. Yet, on this same place of ` Arafat, nearly that many other human beings were present, no trace of whom exists today. On this analogy, imagine about any assembly of human beings, any animated gathering of people, think about their past and future, and then figure out what you get - somebody telling you. to wise up to the ultimate truth of things فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (Praised be Allah, the best of creators).</p>
CommentaryIn previous verses, mention was made of grave consequences to be faced by those who avoid or oppose Divine commandments and prophetic teachings. In the present verses, the same deniers of the truth have been given an opportunity to learn and correct themselves by observing conditions around them as well as those prevailing in times before them. No doubt, events of the past are documents full of chastening lessons which, if seen to find wisdom, would prove to be more effective than a thousand sermons. So, still valid is the saying of the sage: The world is the best book and time, the best teacher. That is why wisdom-based historical anecdotes form a good part of the Holy Qur'an. But, speaking generally, people have not given world history any serious role in conducting lives properly. They have, rather than benefiting from it, made it into an intellectual pastime which would either help to sleep or to while away spare time.Perhaps, it is for this reason that the Holy Qur'an has taken the essence of history as a server of warning and a dispenser of good counsel. But, this is unlike the customary historical fiction where the story or the event are an end in themselves. So, the Qur'an has not taken up historical events as ongoing events in their own right. Instead of doing something like that, it has chosen to place part of the narrative as relevant to the given subject and setting of the message in the text. Then, there would be another occasion, another place, when it would describe another part of the story as relevant there. This may be indicative of the reality that a report or story is not an end by itself, instead, the purpose is to identify the outcome of the report and the practical implication of the event, therefore, one should be concerned with what is necessary for the objective in sight, move ahead and survey his circumstances in that light - that is, learn that vital lesson from what has gone before and thereby correct oneself.In the first verse, it was said about the people of Makkah, the direct addressees of the Holy Prophet ﷺ : أَلَمْ يَرَ‌وْا كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْ‌نٍ Havethey not seen how many generations We have destroyed prior to them?' Here, ` seen' means to ponder about, because these generations were not present before them at that time to see. It was after that, that the destruction of many generations (` qarn' ) was mentioned.The word, قَرن qarn, is used for a group of people collectively present at a given time and period. It is also used to denote a long period of time which could be, depending on different interpretations, between ten to one hundred years. But, some events and narrations do support the position that this word is used for one hundred years as it appears in a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ii had told Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Busr al-Ma'ziniyy that he will live for one Qarn. Also when the Holy Prophet ﷺ prayed for a certain child that may he live for a whole qarn, he did live for a full one hundred years. The majority of ` Ulama' take the famous Hadith خَیرُالقُرونِ قَرنِی ثُمَّ الَّذین یلونھُم ثُمَ الَّذینَ یَلُونَھُم (still recited as part of the Khutbah of Jumu'ah all over the world) to be meaning exactly this, that is, every qarn is one hundred years.About past peoples of the world, first it was said that the kind of power and well-being given to them was not given to people later than them, but when these very people took to the ways of belying prophets and disobeying Divine injunctions, all that majesty of power and wealth was rendered futile against the punishment of Allah which annihilated them totally. So, this was a lesson for the addressees of today, the people of Makkah who did not have the power of the legendary people of ` Ad and Thamud, nor the affluence of the people of Syria and Yaman. For them, the need of the hour was to learn a lesson from what happened to the peoples of the past and turn towards an examination of their doings and think where they are going to end up by op-posing the truth.At the end of the verse, it was said: وَأَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْ‌نًا آخَرِ‌ينَ (and raised up, after them, another generation). It means that the great power of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu was not simply limited to seeing that nations of strength, authority and power lay destroyed in a flash, but it was right there on the ashes of their destruction that other peoples were made to rise and populate places, as if nothing had happened there and no one was missing from the scene. This spectacle of Divine power and wisdom is something observable in its own ways during every time and period when thousands die every day but there is no vacuum left anywhere. We never come to realize that people who belonged here are not here anymore.Once, while on the plains of Arafat with a million men and women spread around, came the thought that only a mere seventy or eighty years earlier, none among this whole assembly of people existed. Yet, on this same place of ` Arafat, nearly that many other human beings were present, no trace of whom exists today. On this analogy, imagine about any assembly of human beings, any animated gathering of people, think about their past and future, and then figure out what you get - somebody telling you. to wise up to the ultimate truth of things فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (Praised be Allah, the best of creators).