Ar-Room (The Romans)

9. “Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of these before them? They were stronger than them in strength, and they ploughed up the earth and cultivated it more than they themselves have cultivated it; and their messenger came to them with clear proofs (miracles) (which they rejected, to their own destruction); so Allah would never deal with them unjustly, but they dealt unjustly with their own selves.”

We must look at the fate and the end of the former nations, not at their daily glories.

Concerning the necessity of familiarity with the events in history and contemplating on them, Hadrat Ali (as), addressing his son, says:

“Though my age is not so old but I am familiar with the history of the former nations as if I have the lifetime of history.”1

Explaining the meaning of the Qur’anic sentence:

“Have they not travelled in the earth”

Imam Sadiq (as) said:

“The purpose of it is contemplation and study the history of the former nations (who are mentioned) in the Qur’an”.2

However, the Qur’an in this verse says:

“Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of these before them?…”

These nations are those who had a better power than these ones and who had changed the land and had flourished it more than that they did.

Here is what the verse says:

“…They were stronger than them in strength, and they ploughed up the earth and cultivated it more than they themselves have cultivated it…”

Divine messengers came to them with clear miracles, but they showed stubbornness and did not submit to the Truth and, consequently, they encountered the painful chastisement of Allah.

The verse continues saying:

“…and their messenger came to them with clear proofs (miracles) (which they rejected, to their own destruction)…” “…so Allah would never deal with them unjustly, but they dealt unjustly with their own selves.”

In fact, the holy Qur’an here points to those nations who, comparing the polytheists coeval with the Prophet (S), were considerably stronger than these people from the point of power, bodily strength, and finance, and it explains their painful end as a lesson for these people.

The Qur’anic phrase: /’aθar-ul-’ard/ (they ploughed up the earth) may refer to ploughing the earth for farming and planting trees, or digging it for streams and irrigation systems, or preparing the land for building high buildings, or all of these affairs, for this phrase has a vast concept which encompasses these things which are the preliminary of cultivation.¹

And since in the world of that day the utmost power was in the hand of those who were more developed from the point of agriculture and had considerably progressed in constructing buildings, the superiority of those nations, comparing the polytheists of Mecca whose ability, from this point of view, was very limited is made clear.

Yet, those nations, with all their power and abilities, when they rejected the Divine revelations and denied their messengers, could not escape from the grips of divine punishment, then how can you escape?

These painful punishments are the fruit and sequence of their own deeds. They themselves did unjustly against their own selves and Allah would never deal with them unjustly.