أَلَمْ يَرَوْا كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
Have they not seen how many generations We destroyed before them, never to return to them?
Search results
Search includes published English texts only.
The Quran now turns its hearers' attention towards the generations who lived before them. How many communities once had power, wealth and active lives, yet have passed away and cannot return to later generations to resume the lives they left behind?
The reminder invites us to learn from those who have gone before and reconsider the direction of our own lives.
The outward attractions of other people's lives can sometimes awaken an endless succession of desires. As soon as one wish is fulfilled, another takes its place, until we forget that our own opportunities in this world are limited.
A letter attributed to Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Qadi, an influential Shi'a scholar and teacher of Islamic spirituality, contains this counsel:
“The source of all heedlessness is forgetting death and imagining that we will remain in this world. If you wish to be free from fear, anxiety and troubling suggestions, keep death in mind and prepare to meet God. This is a precious treasure and the key to well-being in this world and the Hereafter.”
The quotation is presented as advice attributed to him; the attribution of the letter has not been independently established by this English translation. Its place here is a spiritual reflection inspired by the verse, not a claim that these are the literal words or the sole meaning of the Quran.