Has there not reached them the news of those before them - the people of Noah and [the tribes of] ʿAad and Thamūd and the people of Abraham and the companions [i.e., dwellers] of Madyan and the towns overturned?492 Their messengers came to them with clear proofs. And Allāh would never have wronged them, but they were wronging themselves.
Notes
[492] i.e., those to which Lot was sent and which earned for themselves Allāh's punishment. See 11:82-83.
Verse 70 of Surah At-Tawbah (9:70), a Medinan surah, is in juz 10, on page 198 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 72 reciters.
Listen to verse 70 of Surah At-Tawbah
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Tafsir of verse 70
Al-Mukhtasar
Have the hypocrites not heard of what previous disbelieving communities did and what their end was? The news of the people of Noah, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Abraham, the inhabitants of Madyan and the towns of the nation of Lot? Their messengers came to them with clear proof and evidence. Allah was not unjust in punishing them, as their messengers had warned them, but they were unjust to themselves because of their disbelief in Allah and rejection of His messengers.
Have they not received the stories of those who came before them: the people of Noah, ‘Ād, Thamūd, the people of Abraham, the dwellers of Midian, and the overturned cities [of Lot]? Their messengers came to them with clear signs. It was not Allah who wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.
Has not the story reached them of those before them? - The people of Nûh (Noah), ‘Âd, and Thamûd, the people of Ibrâhîm (Abraham), the dwellers of Madyan (Midian) and the cities overthrown [i.e. the people to whom Lût (Lot) preached]; to them came their Messengers with clear proofs. So it was not Allâh Who wronged them, but they used to wrong themselves.
Hath not the fame of those before them reached them - the folk of Noah, A'ad, Thamud, the folk of Abraham, the dwellers of Midian and the disasters (which befell them)? Their messengers (from Allah) came unto them with proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty). So Allah surely wronged them not, but they did wrong themselves.
Hath not the story reached them of those before them?- the People of Noah, and 'Ad, and Thamud; the People of Abraham, the men of Midian, and the cities overthrown. To them came their messengers with clear signs. It is not Allah Who wrongs them, but they wrong their own souls.
Has not the news of those before them come to them; of the people of Nuh and Ad and Samood, and the people of Ibrahim and the dwellers of Madyan and the overthrown cities; their messengers came to them with clear arguments; so it was not Allah Who should do them injustice, but they were unjust to themselves.
Has there not come up to them the tiding of the ones who were even before them, the people of Nuh, (Noah) and Aad, and Thamûd, and the people of Ibrahim, (Abraham) and the companions (i.e., the inhabitants) of Madyan, and the cities of falsehood? Their Messengers came up to them with the clear evidences; so in no way did Allah indeed do them (any) injustice, but they were doing themselves injustice..
Have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? They were greater than them in power, and they plowed [or excavated] the earth and built it up more than they [i.e., the Makkans] have built it up, and their messengers came to them with clear evidences. And Allāh would not ever have wronged them, but they were wronging themselves.
So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allāh would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.
And to those who are Jews We have prohibited that which We related to you before. And We did not wrong them [thereby], but they were wronging themselves.
