Page 151 - Perished Nations

messengers were passed in explaining these matters to their people over
and over again. Yet most often, the people to whom they were sent accu-
sed them of untruthfulness, of seeking to acquire material gains, or trying
to assert their superiority over them and then they went on to practise the-
ir own systems without thinking of what the prophet said or without qu-
estioning their deeds. Some of them have gone further and attempted to
kill or drive away the believers. The number of the believers that obeyed
and followed was often very few. However, in the cases of the rebellious
communities, Allah always saved only the prophets and their followers.
Despite the thousands of years that have gone by, and the changes in
places, manners, technologies and civilisations, yet not much has changed
in the aforementioned social structures and the systems of the unbelievers.
As we have emphasised above, many of the world’s societies have all the
qualities of the people described in the Qur'an. Just like Thamud who ga-
ve short measure, there are also a great number of forgers and swindlers
today. There exists a "homosexual community", which is defended whene-
ver the occasion presents itself, and the members of which do not fall short
of the people of Lut (as) in whom sexual perversion had reached its peak.
A great part of society is made up of people as ungrateful and rebellious
as Saba, as unthankful for the wealth endowed to them as the people of
Iram, as unsubmissive and insulting towards the believers as the people of
Nuh (as), and as heedless of social justice as ‘Ad.
These are very significant signs…
We should always bear in mind that whatever differences come about
in societies or at whatever stage of technological advancement they are or
whatever their potentials are, these have no importance whatsoever. None
of these can save one from Allah's punishment. The Qur’an reminds us all
of this reality:
Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those
before them? They were superior to them in strength: they tilled the soil
and populated it in greater numbers than these have done: there came to
them their messengers with Clear (Signs). (Which they rejected, to their
own destruction): It was not Allah Who wronged them, but they wronged
their own souls. (Surat ar-Rum: 9)

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