قُلْ سِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّشْرِكِينَ 42
Translations
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Travel through the land and observe how was the end of those before. Most of them were associators [of others with Allāh].
Transliteration
Qul sīrū fī al-arḍ fa-nẓurū kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu alladhīna min qablu kāna akthharuhum mushrikīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to tell people to travel through the land and observe the ruins and remnants of previous nations who were destroyed due to their disbelief and polytheism. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah serves as a powerful reminder that most of these destroyed peoples were polytheists who rejected Allah's messages, and their ultimate fate was ruin and destruction—a clear warning to those who follow similar paths of disbelief.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Ar-Rum's Meccan period, where the overarching theme addresses the inevitability of Allah's promised outcomes and the destruction of past civilizations. The context follows verses discussing the corruption that has appeared on land and sea as a consequence of human deeds, making this command to travel and observe an empirical call to witness historical evidence of divine justice.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Learn from the people before you from the signs and ruins of their nations' (referenced in various classical compilations). Additionally, Surah Al-Araf 3:137 contains a parallel theme: 'Thus have those before them passed away; they too were mightier in strength and left behind traces.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that observing the historical consequences of disbelief and moral corruption should serve as a sobering reminder to examine our own spiritual condition and remain steadfast in monotheism. The destruction of past civilizations is not merely historical trivia but a divine lesson demonstrating that rejecting Allah's guidance invariably leads to ruin, regardless of worldly power or prosperity.
Related Ayahs
ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He [i.e., Allāh] may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness].
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ رَزَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ۖ هَلْ مِن شُرَكَآئِكُم مَّن يَفْعَلُ مِن ذَٰلِكُم مِّن شَىْءٍ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Allāh is the one who created you, then provided for you, then will cause you to die, and then will give you life. Are there any of your "partners" who does anything of that? Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him.
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest description [i.e., attribute] in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ رُسُلًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِمْ فَجَآءُوهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا۟ ۖ وَكَانَ حَقًّا عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And We have already sent messengers before you to their peoples, and they came to them with clear evidences; then We took retribution from those who committed crimes, and incumbent upon Us was support of the believers.