Surah Ghafir, Ayah 22

The Severe Punishment for the Disbelievers

أَوَلَمْ يَسيرُواْ

(Have they not traveled), `these people who disbelieve in your Message, O Muhammad,'

فِى الاٌّرْضِ فَيَنظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ

(in the land and seen what was the end of those who were before them) means, the nations of the past who disbelieved in their Prophets (peace be upon them), for which the punishment came upon them even though they were stronger than Quraysh.

وَءَاثَاراً فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(and in the traces in the land.) means, they left behind traces in the earth, such as structures, buildings and dwellings which these people i.e., the Quraysh cannot match. This is like the Ayat:

In verse 19, it was said: يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الْأَعْيُنِ (He knows the treachery of the eyes), in other words, eyes that betray the trust. It means the action of a person who would, secretly and surreptitiously, cast a glance over something haram and impermissible for him or her, for example, casts a glance at a non-mahram person with sexual desire, and takes it away in the event someone was around, or casts a glance in a manner that is not noticed by others. All these things are open before Allah Ta’ ala.

In the history of the world it has happened frequently that one nation or community rises to great heights, but is then annihilated. One finds that a nation once gave birth to a grand civilization and today that civilization is traceable only through its half buried ruins. A nation which once enjoyed the position of a live entity is today considered worthy of mention only as a matter of historical record. Such events are a common occurence. But people have attributed them to geological phenomena or to historical revolutions. But the fact is that the fall of nations has always resulted from Divine decisions, which were imposed on the concerned peoples on account of their denial of the Truth. Had we possessed the insight to see the reality behind the events we will find that every event took place through the angels of God, though to all appearances, its causes were of a worldly nature.