Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Surah Ghafir
Surah 40 · Ghafir · verse 22 of 85

Quran 40:22 · Ghafir

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ كَانَت تَّأۡتِيهِمۡ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ فَكَفَرُواْ فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱللَّهُۚ إِنَّهُۥ قَوِيّٞ شَدِيدُ ٱلۡعِقَابِ

That was because their messengers were coming to them with clear proofs, but they disbelieved, so Allah seized them. Indeed, He is Powerful and severe in punishment

Translation: Sahih International
Maulana’s commentary · Tazkirul Quran

In the history of the world it has happened frequently that one nation or community rises to great heights, but is then annihilated. One finds that a nation once gave birth to a grand civilization and today that civilization is traceable only through its half buried ruins. A nation which once enjoyed the position of a live entity is today considered worthy of mention only as a matter of historical record. Such events are a common occurence. But people have attributed them to geological phenomena or to historical revolutions. But the fact is that the fall of nations has always resulted from Divine decisions, which were imposed on the concerned peoples on account of their denial of the Truth. Had we possessed the insight to see the reality behind the events we will find that every event took place through the angels of God, though to all appearances, its causes were of a worldly nature.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Tazkirul Quran

In the lectures

Maulana does not cite this verse in the lectures indexed so far. The verses of this surah Maulana does cite →