Page 104 - The Truth of the Life of This World

The news of previous peoples, which constitutes a great part of the
Qur'an, is certainly one of the issues of the revelation to be contemplated.
The lessons that are to be drawn from their experience is stated as follows
in the Qur'an:

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 wrong actions We
destroyed them, and raised in their wake fresh generations (to succeed
them). (Surat al-An'am: 6)

Another verse addressed to men of understanding who can take warn-
ing and take heed is the following:
But how many generations before them did We destroy (for their wrong
actions), stronger in power than they? Then did they wander through the
land: was there any place of escape (for them)? Verily in this is a message for
any that has a heart and understanding or who gives ear and earnestly wit-
nesses (the truth). (Surah Qaf: 36-37)
Allah in the Qur'an tells us that these cases of destruction should be a
warning for succeeding generations. Nearly all the destructions of ancient
peoples related in the Qur'an are identifiable, thanks to current archive

studies and archaeological finds, and thus can be studied. Yet it would be
a great mistake to develop only a historical or scientific approach while
examining traces of these cases in the Qur'an. As stated in the following
verse, each of these incidents is a warning from which to draw lessons:
So, We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity, and a
lesson to those who fear Allah. (Surat al-Baqarah: 66)
Yet, we should consider one significant fact: those communities who
resisted obeying the commands of Allah did not suffer under Allah's wrath
suddenly. Allah sent them messengers to warn them so that they would
regret their behaviour and submit to Him. That all troubles befalling men
is a reminder for the grievous punishment in the hereafter is stated in the
Qur'an:
And verily We make them taste the lower punishment before the greater, that
happily they may return. (Surat as-Sajdah: 21)

102 Past Civilisations