These are some of the stories of communities which We relate unto thee: of
them some are standing, and some have been mown down (by the sickle of time).
It was not We that wronged them: They wronged their own souls: the deities, other than
Allah,
whom they invoked, profited them no whit when there issued the decree of thy Lord: Nor
did they add aught (to their lot) but perdition! (Surah Hud: 100-101)
Allah creates man, and gives him a spiritual and physical form, lets him
lead a certain course of life, and then will take him into His presence by bringing about
his death. Allah creates man and according to the verse “Should He not know,- He
that created?” (Surat al-Mulk: 14), He is the One Who knows and recognises him,
who educates him and meets his needs. Therefore, the only real purpose man has in life is
to praise Allah, supplicate Him and worship Him. For the same reason, the pure message,
and the revelation of Allah communicated to people through His messengers is the sole
guidance for man.
The Qur’an is the last book of Allah and His only unaltered
revelation.
This is why we are responsible of assuming the Qur’an as our true
guide, and for being extremely meticulous about all its judgements. This is the only way
for salvation both here in this world and beyond.
Therefore, we need to explore very carefully and attentively what the
Qur’an relates to us and contemplate it. In the Qur’an, Allah states that the
purpose of the Qur’an’s revelation is to lead people to think:
Here is a Message for mankind: Let them take warning therefrom, and let
them know that He is (no other than) One Allah: let men of understanding take heed.
(Surah Ibrahim: 52)
The news of previous peoples which constitutes a great part of the
Qur’an, is certainly one of the matters we ought to contemplate. A majority of these
people rejected the prophets sent to them and, moreover, showed animosity towards them.
Because of their audacity, they brought Allah’s wrath upon themselves and have been
wiped off the face of the earth.
The Qur’an tells us that these cases of destruction should be a
warning for succeeding generations. For instance, right after the description of the
punishment given to a group of Jews who rebelled against Allah, it is said in the
Qur’an; “So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity,
and a lesson to those who fear Allah.” (Surat al-Baqara: 66)
In this book, we will review some past societies that have been destroyed
because of their rebellion against Allah. Our purpose is to highlight all these incidents,
each of which is an “example to their own time”, so that they can set a
“warning”.
The second reason we are examining these destructions is to show the
manifestations of the verses of the Qur’an externally in the world and show the
authenticity of the Qur’an’s account. In the Qur’an, Allah certifies that
His verses are observable in the external world “Praise be to Allah, Who will soon
show you His Signs, so that ye shall know them” (Surat an-Naml: 93), and to know
and identify them is one of the primary ways leading to belief.
Nearly all the incidents of destruction related in the Qur’an have
become “observable” and “identifiable” thanks to the current archive
studies and archaeological finds. In this study, we will deal with the traces of some of
the cases of destruction mentioned in the Qur’an. (It should be noted that some of
the communities related in the Qur’an have not been included in the scope of this
book, because in the Qur’an no specific time and place is given for some of them,
which are only described for their rebellious conduct and antagonism towards Allah and His
prophets, and for the disasters that befell them as a result. Thus, people are
summoned to derive a warning from them)
Our purpose is to cast a light upon the realities of the Qur’an
through contemporary discoveries and thus show the truth of Allah’s religion to
everyone- both believers and unbelievers.