Tafseer of Ornaments of gold · Az-Zukhruf · 43:8
And We destroyed greater than them in [striking] power, and the example of the former peoples has preceded.
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.
Explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَأَهْلَكْنَا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُم بَطْشًا وَمَضَىٰ مَثَلُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ (43:8)
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Then We destroyed those who were mightier than these mockers of their prophets in violence, when they struck; and they could not escape Us with their strength and the severity of their violence, nor were they able to protect themselves against Our might when it came upon them. Those who are weaker than they are in strength are then all the more incapable of protecting themselves against Our vengeance when it descends upon them. He, exalted is His praise, says: and for these polytheists who mock you, and for those who were before them of their like, Our example has passed in their predecessors — namely the deniers of Our messengers whom We destroyed. He says: let these who mock you, O Muḥammad, expect from Our punishment the same as what We caused to descend upon those who persisted in denying you.
And similar to what we have said about this, the exegetes said.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: and the example of the former peoples has passed — he said: the punishment of the former peoples.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his saying: the example of the former peoples — he said: their transmitted way of acting (sunna).
