Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qasas Verse 59

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And your Lord is not such as He would destroy the towns unless he had sent to their central place a messenger who recites to them Our verses, nor are We such as would destroy the towns unless their people are wrongdoers.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Your Lord would never destroy a society until He had sent to its capital a messenger, reciting Our revelations to them. Nor would We ever destroy a society unless its people persisted in wrongdoing.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Your Lord would never destroy towns without first sending to their main city a messenger, reciting to them Our verses. Nor would We destroy towns unless their people were wrongdoers.

A. J. Arberry

Yet thy Lord never destroyed the cities until He sent in their mother-city a Messenger, to recite Our signs unto them; and We never destroyed the cities, save that their inhabitants were evildoers.

Abdul Haleem

Your Lord would never destroy towns without first raising a messenger in their midst to recite Our messages to them, nor would We destroy towns unless their inhabitants were evildoers.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Nor was thy Lord to destroy the Cities, until He had raised up in their mother-city an apostle reciting unto them our revealations. Nor were We to destroy the cities unless the inhabitants thereof were wrong-doers.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Nor was thy Lord the one to destroy a population until He had sent to its centre a messenger, rehearsing to them Our Signs; nor are We going to destroy a population except when its members practise iniquity.

Abul Ala Maududi

Your Lord would not destroy a town until He had sent to its centre a Messenger who would recite to them Our verses. Nor would We destroy any town unless its inhabitants were iniquitous.

Ahmed Ali

But your Lord does not destroy habitations without having sent an apostle to their metropolis to read out Our commandments to them. We would never have destroyed cities if their inhabitants were not given to wickedness.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And never does your Lord destroy towns until He sends a Noble Messenger to their principal town, reciting Our verses to them; and We never destroy towns unless its people are unjust.

Ali Quli Qarai

Your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had raised an apostle in their mother city to recite to them Our signs. We would never destroy the towns except when their people were wrongdoers.

Ali Ünal

Yet Your Lord never destroys townships without first raising up in their mother-town a Messenger who conveys to them Our messages. We never destroy townships, save that their people are wrongdoers (who associate partners with God and are given to many injustices).

Amatul Rahman Omar

Your Lord would never destroy the towns until He has raised a Messenger in their central place to recite to the people thereof Our Messages, nor would We destroy the towns unless their citizens be unjust.

English Literal

And your Lord was not perishing/destroying the villages/urban cities, until He sends in its origin a messenger, he reads/recites on (to) them Our verses/evidences/signs, and We were not destroying the villages/urban cities, except and (while) its people (are) unjust/oppressive .

Faridul Haque

And never does your Lord destroy towns until He sends a Noble Messenger to their principal town, reciting Our verses to them; and We never destroy towns unless its people are unjust.

Hamid S. Aziz

How many a community have We destroyed that exulted in its means of subsistence? Yonder are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them, except for a while. And We, even We, are the inheritors.

Hilali & Khan

And never will your Lord destroy the towns (populations) until He sends to their mother town a Messenger reciting to them Our Verses. And never would We destroy the towns unless the people thereof are Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, oppressors and tyrants).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And they say: If we follow the guidance with thee, we should be carried off from our country. Have We not settled them in a safe, sacred territory to which fruits of every kind are drawn? A sustenance from Us -- but most of them know not.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And your Lord never destroyed the towns until He raised in their metropolis an apostle, reciting to them Our communications, and We never destroyed the towns except when their people were unjust.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And never did thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up in their mother(-town) a messenger reciting unto them Our revelations. And never did We destroy the townships unless the folk thereof were evil-doers.

Muhammad Sarwar

Your Lord did not destroy the people of the towns without first sending a Messenger to the mother town who would recite His revelations to them. We did not want to destroy the towns if the people therein were not unjust.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Nor did your Lord destroy the villages until He had sent a Messenger to its mother village reciting to them Our verses. We never destroyed villages unless their inhabitants were harmdoers.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And never will your Lord destroy the towns until He sends to their mother town a Messenger reciting to them Our Ayat. And never would We destroy the towns unless the people thereof are wrongdoers.

Wahiduddin Khan

Your Lord would never destroy a people until He had sent messengers to their capital cities, reciting to them Our revelations. Nor did We destroy a town unless their people became wrongdoers.

Talal Itani

Your Lord never destroys cities without first sending a messenger in their midst, reciting to them Our revelations. And We never destroy the cities, unless their people are wrongdoers.

Tafsir jalalayn

And your Lord never destroyed the towns, because of evildoing on their part, until He had raised up in their mother-town, that is, the major [town] among them, a messenger to recite Our signs to them. And We never destroyed the towns unless their inhabitants were committing evil, by denying the messengers.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى حَتَّى يَبْعَثَ فِي أُمِّهَا

And never will your Lord destroy the towns until He sends to their mother town i.e., Makkah --

رَسُولاً يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ايَاتِنَا

a Messenger reciting to them Our Ayat.

This indicates that the Unlettered Prophet, Muhammad was sent from the Mother of Cities as a Messenger to all cities and towns, Arab and non-Arab alike.

This is like the Ayat;

لِّتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا

so that you may warn the Mother of Towns and all those around it. (6;92)

قُلْ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا

Say;"O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah." (7;158)

لااٌّنذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ

That I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach. (6;19)

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاٌّحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ

but those of the sects that reject it, the Fire will be their promised meeting place. (11;17)

وَإِن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ إِلاَّ نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا

And there is not a town but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe torment. (17;58)

Allah tells us that He will destroy every town before the Day of Resurrection, as He says;

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً

And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger. (17;15)

Allah has sent the Unlettered Prophet to all the towns (all of mankind), because he has been sent to the Mother of Cities, their source to which they all return.

It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that the Prophet said;

بُعِثْتُ إِلَى الاَْحْمَرِ وَالاَْسْوَد

I have been sent to the red and the black.

Prophethood ended with him, and there is no Prophet or Messenger to come after him, but his way will remain as long as night and day remain, until the Day of Resurrection.

Allah also tells that;

وَمَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِي الْقُرَى إِلاَّ وَأَهْلُهَا ظَالِمُونَ



And never would We destroy the towns unless the people thereof are wrongdoers