سُوْرَةُ يٰسٓ
Surah Yaseen (36) — Ayah 31
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿31﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them? Verily, they will not return to them.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَلَمْ
alam
Do not
يَرَوْا۟
yaraw
they see
كَمْ
kam
how many
أَهْلَكْنَا
ahlaknā
We destroyed
قَبْلَهُم
qablahum
before them
مِّنَ
mina
of
ٱلْقُرُونِ
l-qurūni
the generations
أَنَّهُمْ
annahum
That they
إِلَيْهِمْ
ilayhim
to them
لَا
lā
will not return
يَرْجِعُونَ
yarjiʿūna
will not return
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
31. Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them [31], who never returned to them?
That is, they neither look towards the fate of previous nations nor do they reflect upon it. Those nations also used to mock their messengers, and as a consequence, they were destroyed, and their traces were so completely wiped out that none of them survived to return to them. Yet, the habit of these disbelievers remained the same: whenever a new messenger came, they would begin to mock and ridicule him in the same way as was the custom of the previous disbelievers, and they would not learn any lesson. And today, the disbelievers of Makkah are treating the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the same manner.
That is, they neither look towards the fate of previous nations nor do they reflect upon it. Those nations also used to mock their messengers, and as a consequence, they were destroyed, and their traces were so completely wiped out that none of them survived to return to them. Yet, the habit of these disbelievers remained the same: whenever a new messenger came, they would begin to mock and ridicule him in the same way as was the custom of the previous disbelievers, and they would not learn any lesson. And today, the disbelievers of Makkah are treating the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the same manner.
