English Translation of Al-Quran
[28].Surah Al-Qasas [The Narration]
Ayat 58. And how many towns (population) have Allah destroyed, which were thankless for its means of livelihood (disobeyed Allah, and His Messengers, by doing evil deeds and crimes)! And those are their dwellings, which have not been inhabited after them except a little. And verily! We have been the inheritors.
Tafseer of Surah Al-Qasas (The Narration) Ayat 58. And how many populations Allah destroyed, which exulted in their life (of ease and plenty)! Now those habitations of theirs, after them, are deserted, – All but a (miserable) few! And Allah is their heirs! A life of ease and plenty is nothing to boast of. Yet people or cities or civilizations grow insolently proud of such things. There were many such in the past, which are now mere names! Their very sites are deserted in most cases, or buried in the debris of ages. The Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is full of such sites nearly everywhere. The sites of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro are the most ancient hitherto unearthed in Pakistan, and they are themselves in layers covering centuries of time! And how many more there may be, of which we do not even know names! Fatehpur-Sikri was a magnificent ruin within a single generation. And there are thousands of Qasbas once flourishing and now reduced to small villages or altogether deserted. But Allah is merciful and just. He does not destroy or degrade a people until they have had full opportunities of turning in repentance to Him and they have deliberately rejected His Law and continued in the practice of iniquity.
English Translation of Hadith
Hazrat Ibn Umer (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: when Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH), and his Companions reached Al-Hijr, the dwellings of the Thamud people, he admonished his Companions (saying), “Do not pass by these people who are being tormented, without weeping, lest the punishment should befall you as it had befallen them.” [Al-Bukhari Book 04, Chapter 55, Hadith # 564].
Another narration is: Hazrat Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: When the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) passed near Al-Hijr, he said, “Do not enter without weeping, the dwellings of those who wronged themselves, lest the same chastisement should fall upon you as it had fallen upon them.” Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) then covered his head and sped up until he crossed the valley of the tormented people.
Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Al-Qasas Ayat 58. “And how many towns (population) have Allah destroyed, which were thankless for its means of livelihood (disobeyed Allah, and His Messengers, by doing evil deeds” The Thamud were the people to whose guidance Allah sent Prophet Salih PBUH. They lived between Al-Madinah and Syria. In 10 A.H. when the Prophet [SAWW](PBUH) went to the Syrian border for the Tabuk expedition, he also passed through this ruined territory. This Hadith is related to the address which he gave to his Companions on the occasion. Here is an instruction that when we happen to pass through the territory of a nation destroyed in the past as a result of Divine wrath, we are advised to quicken one’s pace. That is why we have been commanded to avoid the company of the corrupt and the wrongdoers, lest we meet their bad end, too. As the Qur’an says: “And incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you.” (11:113) May Allah save us from it!.