Al-Qur'an Surah Al-An'am Verse 131

Mufti Taqi Usmani

That (Allah sends messengers) is because your Lord is not to destroy any towns on account of any wrongdoing, while their people are unaware.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

This ˹sending of the messengers˺ is because your Lord would never destroy a society for their wrongdoing while its people are unaware ˹of the truth˺.

Ruwwad Translation Center

This is because your Lord would never destroy a town for their wrongdoing while its people are unaware [of the truth].

A. J. Arberry

That is because thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while their inhabitants were heedless.

Abdul Haleem

your Lord would not destroy towns for their wrongdoing if they had not been warned.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

This is because thy Lord is not one to destroy a town for its wrong-doing while its people are unaware.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(The messengers were sent) thus, for thy Lord would not destroy for their wrong-doing men's habitations whilst their occupants were unwarned.

Abul Ala Maududi

(They will be made to bear this witness to show that) it is not the way of your Lord to destroy cities unjustly while their people were unaware of the Truth.

Ahmed Ali

And this (so that it may be clear) that your Lord does not destroy towns and cities arbitrarily while the citizens remain unaware.

Ahmed Raza Khan

This is because your Lord does not unjustly destroy townships for their people may be unaware.

Ali Quli Qarai

This is because your Lord would never destroy the towns unjustly while their people were unaware.

Ali Ünal

Clearly it is not the way of your Lord that He would destroy lands unjustly without their people being warned (beforehand of the consequence of their way of life) and therefore unmindful (of the distinctions between right and wrong, truth and falsehood).

Amatul Rahman Omar

This (sending of the Messengers) is because your Lord destroys no township unjustly whilst their inhabitants are unwarned.

English Literal

That (is) that your Lord was not destroying the villages/urban cities with injustice, and its people (are) ignoring/disregarding .

Faridul Haque

This is because your Lord does not unjustly destroy townships for their people may be unaware.

Hamid S. Aziz

That is because your Lord would never destroy a township arbitrarily, while their people are unaware (of what is wrong).

Hilali & Khan

This is because your Lord would not destroy the (populations of) towns for their wrong-doing (i.e. associating others in worship along with Allah) while their people were unaware (so the Messengers were sent).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O community of jinn and men, did there not come to you messengers from among you, relating to you My messages and warning you of the meeting of this day of yours? They will say: We bear witness against ourselves. And this world’s life deceived them, and they will bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

This is because your Lord would not destroy towns unjustly while their people were negligent.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

This is because thy Lord destroyeth not the townships arbitrarily while their people are unconscious (of the wrong they do).

Muhammad Sarwar

Your Lord did not want to destroy the towns, unjustly, without informing their inhabitants (of His guidance).

Qaribullah & Darwish

That is because your Lord will not destroy villages unjustly, while their inhabitants were inattentive.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

This is because your Lord would not destroy the (populations of) towns for their wrongdoing while their people were unaware.

Wahiduddin Khan

Your Lord would not destroy a community for its wrongdoing, so long as its people were still unaware.

Talal Itani

That is because your Lord would not destroy towns for injustice while their inhabitants are unaware.

Tafsir jalalayn

That, sending of the messengers, is because (an, [phonetically] lightened, with the lm [of li-annahu] implied, thus [read as] li-annahu, `because') your Lord would never destroy the towns through injustice, on their part, while their inhabitants were heedless, not having had any Messenger to make [things] clear to them.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Allah said,

ذَلِكَ أَن لَّمْ يَكُن رَّبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا غَافِلُونَ



This is because your Lord would not destroy the (populations of) towns for their wrongdoing while their people were unaware.

meaning;`We sent the Messengers and revealed the Books to the Jinns and mankind, so that no one has an excuse that he is being punished for his wrongs although he did not receive Allah's Message. Therefore, We did not punish any of the nations, except after sending Messengers to them, so that they have no excuse.'

Allah said in other Ayat,

وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلاَّ خَلَ فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ

And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them. (35;24)

and,

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming);"Worship Allah, and stay away from At-Taghut (all false deities)." (16;36)

and,

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً

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

and,

كُلَّمَا أُلْقِىَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَأ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ

قَالُواْ بَلَى قَدْ جَأءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا

Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask;"Did no warner come to you!"

They will say;"Yes, indeed a warner did come to us, but we belied him." (67;8-9)

There are many other Ayat on this subject.

Allah's statement