Surah Ar-Room (30) — Ayah 9

(Ayah 9) ➊ {اَوَ لَمْ يَسِيْرُوْا فِي الْاَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوْا … :} After mentioning the proofs of the truth of the Hereafter, the evil end of the former nations who denied it has been warned. Because the remnants of these nations were scattered everywhere to the east, west, north, and south of Makkah Mukarramah. Whether it was ‘Ad and Thamud, or the people of Madyan, or the people of Lut, or the people of Saba, or the people of Pharaoh, the people of Makkah used to travel to all these regions for trade. By {’’ الْاَرْضِ ‘‘} is meant Makkah Mukarramah and its surrounding areas, which are mentioned repeatedly in the Qur’an. That is, these people who deny the oneness of Allah, the messengership of His messengers, and the Hereafter—have they not traveled through the land to see how was the end of those who denied before them? The meaning is that surely these people have traveled through the land and have seen everything, but they did not look with the eye of reflection so that they might take a lesson, that those people were much stronger than them in terms of power. Their stature and their physical, financial, and military strength were much greater than theirs, and they broke up the land more than them. Breaking up the land includes agriculture, extracting minerals, and establishing irrigation systems, all of which are included, and they populated the land much more than these people of Makkah have populated it. They built great buildings, factories, and dams for water. Their messengers came to them with clear miracles and proofs, but they denied them, so they became targets of Allah’s punishment, and until now the traces of their towns are telling the tale of their destruction.

➋ { كَانُوْۤا اَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَّ اَثَارُوا الْاَرْضَ …:} When Allah Almighty said that the former people were stronger than them and broke up the land and populated it more than they have populated it, in this there is also a rebuke to the disbelievers (the people of Makkah), because the people of Makkah had no comparison with the people of Egypt, the people of Syria, and the people of Yemen in agriculture and land development. In Makkah, there was neither arable land, nor did they break up the land, nor did they have any irrigation system. Whereas Egypt, Syria, and Yemen had reached perfection in agriculture and other fields. So, in calling the people of Makkah also those who develop agriculture and land, and in declaring the former nations more advanced than them, there is a kind of mockery of them, that in comparison to progress, they should consider their own status and see that when such highly developed nations were destroyed for denying their messengers, then what status do these poor people have.

➌ { فَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ …:} That is, among all the nations that Allah Almighty destroyed, the common factor was injustice, and the basis of injustice is denial of the Hereafter, because a nation that believes in the Hereafter and feels accountable for its deeds cannot commit injustice. So, if punishment came upon them due to denial of the Hereafter, then Allah did not wrong them, rather it was the result of their own injustice, and if punishment comes upon the people of Makkah as a result of denying their messenger and the Hereafter, then it will also be because of their own injustice.