Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:82
Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those before them? They were more numerous than themselves and greater in strength and in impression on the land, but they were not availed by what they used to earn.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ قُوَّةً وَآثَارًا فِي الأَرْضِ فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (40:82) (Have they then not traveled through the earth, that they might see how was the end of those who were before them? They were more numerous than they and stronger in power and in traces upon the earth, but what they used to acquire did not avail them) (40:82).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: Have they then not traveled through the earth, O Muḥammad, these who dispute concerning the signs of Allah from among the polytheists (mushrikīn) of your people, through the lands — for they are people of journeys to Syria and Yemen, their caravan journey in the winter and the summer — so that, in the lands which they entered, they might look upon Our retributions inflicted on the peoples whom We struck before them, and might see what We caused to descend upon them of Our punishment because of their denial of Our messengers and their rejection of Our signs, how the consequence of their denial was? ( كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُمْ ) (they were more numerous than they). He says: these who were before them, those who deny you from among the Quraysh, were greater in number than these and more violent in grip and stronger in power and more enduring in traces upon the earth, for they hewed houses out of the mountains and built fortresses.
And Mujāhid used to say concerning that, as al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( وَآثَارًا فِي الأرْضِ ) (and traces upon the earth): the walking with their feet. ( فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ) (but what they used to acquire did not avail them). He says: when Our punishment and Our might came upon them, what they had made of houses in the mountains did not avail them, and that warded off nothing from them; rather, they all perished and were destroyed. And it has been said: that the meaning of His saying ( فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ ) (but what availed them) is: what availed them? According to this interpretation, the first "mā" must stand in the accusative position and the second in the nominative position. He says: so for these who dispute with you from among your people, O Muḥammad, there is in that case a cautionary example, if they take a lesson from it, and an admonition, if they let themselves be admonished; and indeed, Our punishment, when it descends upon the sinful people, is repelled by no repeller and prevented by no preventer, and it will strike them if they do not turn in repentance to believing in you.
