Topic: Civilizations, Past
View Aspects
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ مَّكَّنَّٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَا لَمْ نُمَكِّن لَّكُمْ وَأَرْسَلْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْهِم مِّدْرَارًا وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرَ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمْ فَأَهْلَكْنَٰهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَأَنشَأْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ قَرْنًا ءَاخَرِينَ
46:27.
11:53; 71:12.
Amba’ is the plural of Naba’ which is generally used in the Qur’an about important news relating to some great event (Kulliyyat).
The words do not mean that the world is retrogressing. It is no doubt progressing as a whole, but some of the older nations which rose to heights of civilization in the past were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in those specific branches they were not equalled by the generations that followed. For instance, the modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization.
46:27.
11:53; 71:12.
Important Words:
قرن (generation). The verb form of the word, i.e. قرن (qarana) means, he connected or linked or coupled or joined. قرنmeans, one’s equal in age, i.e. connected with the same age; a generation of men succeeding or preceding another generation, as if both were conjoined; people of one time; people of a time among whom there appears a Prophet. قرینmeans an associate, comrade or companion (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse predicts that the enemies of the Holy Prophet shall be destroyed like the enemies of the former Prophets. Even within the confines of Arabia there had been people who were visited with Divine punishment in consequence of their opposition to their respective Prophets who appeared in bygone times. Among them were the tribes, Tubba‘, ‘Ad, Thamud and others whose stories were current among the Arabs.
The words, as We have established you not, do not mean that the world is retrogressing. The fact is that although the world is progressing as a whole, yet some of the older nations which rose to the heights of civilization in their time were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in these specific branches they have so far not been equalled by the generations that followed. Take, for instance, the ancient Egyptians. The modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization. Similarly, there were people among the Arabs who carved wonderful fortresses out of rocks. Thus every people that ever attained to the heights of civilization enjoyed a certain distinction which is not shared by other nations. By using this expression, the Quran means to say, “When these powerful people were destroyed in spite of their mastery of certain branches of knowledge, how can your arts save you from destruction?”
c
46:27.
d
11:53; 71:12.
415
这些话并不意味着世界在倒退。整个世界无疑是在进步, 但有些较古老的民族, 过去他们的文明曾经达到过很高的程度, 在艺术和科学的某些领域里是如此地先进, 以致他们的后代在那些特定的领域里及不上他们。例如, 现代的科学领域里虽然创造了许多奇迹, 但对古埃及文明的某些物品仍视作奇秘之物。
a
46:27.
b
11:53; 71:12.
754
Important Words:
قرن (generation). The verb form of the word, i.e. قرن (qarana) means, he connected or linked or coupled or joined. قرنmeans, one’s equal in age, i.e. connected with the same age; a generation of men succeeding or preceding another generation, as if both were conjoined; people of one time; people of a time among whom there appears a Prophet. قرینmeans an associate, comrade or companion (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse predicts that the enemies of the Holy Prophet shall be destroyed like the enemies of the former Prophets. Even within the confines of Arabia there had been people who were visited with Divine punishment in consequence of their opposition to their respective Prophets who appeared in bygone times. Among them were the tribes, Tubba‘, ‘Ad, Thamud and others whose stories were current among the Arabs.
The words, as We have established you not, do not mean that the world is retrogressing. The fact is that although the world is progressing as a whole, yet some of the older nations which rose to the heights of civilization in their time were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in these specific branches they have so far not been equalled by the generations that followed. Take, for instance, the ancient Egyptians. The modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization. Similarly, there were people among the Arabs who carved wonderful fortresses out of rocks. Thus every people that ever attained to the heights of civilization enjoyed a certain distinction which is not shared by other nations. By using this expression, the Quran means to say, “When these powerful people were destroyed in spite of their mastery of certain branches of knowledge, how can your arts save you from destruction?”
c
46:27.
d
11:53; 71:12.
823
Amba’ is the plural of Naba’ which is generally used in the Qur’an about important news relating to some great event (Kulliyyat).
824
The words do not mean that the world is retrogressing. It is no doubt progressing as a whole, but some of the older nations which rose to heights of civilization in the past were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in those specific branches they were not equalled by the generations that followed. For instance, the modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization.
أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَانُوٓا۟ أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَثَارُوا۟ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَعَمَرُوهَآ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوهَا وَجَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَٰتِ ۖ فَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.
4:41; 10:45.
12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.
4:41; 9:70; 10:45; 18:50; 29:32.
Important Words:
أثاروا (tilled) is derived from ثار which means, it was or became raised or stirred up; it spread; it rose. ثار الماء means, the water flowed forth with force; it gushed forth. أثارہ means, he raised or roused him or it. أثار الارض means, he tilled the ground or land; he cultivated it by ploughing and sowing. أثار الفتنة بینھم means, he excited mischief amongst them (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse indicates that there had lived in the past people who had attained to a very high stage of civilization and culture; particularly they had made great progress in the art of architecture, mining and cultivation. Recent researches in archaeology have borne testimony to this fact. The Quran had referred to this fact fourteen hundred years ago.
b
12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.
c
4:41; 10:45.
a
12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.
b
4:41; 9:70; 10:45; 18:50; 29:32.
2996
Important Words:
أثاروا (tilled) is derived from ثار which means, it was or became raised or stirred up; it spread; it rose. ثار الماء means, the water flowed forth with force; it gushed forth. أثارہ means, he raised or roused him or it. أثار الارض means, he tilled the ground or land; he cultivated it by ploughing and sowing. أثار الفتنة بینھم means, he excited mischief amongst them (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse indicates that there had lived in the past people who had attained to a very high stage of civilization and culture; particularly they had made great progress in the art of architecture, mining and cultivation. Recent researches in archaeology have borne testimony to this fact. The Quran had referred to this fact fourteen hundred years ago.
b
12:110; 22:47; 35:45; 47:11.
c
4:41; 10:45.
ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
前几节经文的主题, 在人类心中逐渐灌输和形成对优胜和全能的安拉--------他创造、管理和引导所有的生命--------的信仰。这节经文告诉我们说, 当黑暗笼罩大地, 人类完全使安拉湮没无闻而崇拜他们自己杜撰出来的诸神灵时, 安拉选拔一位先知 “把迷途的羊群带回主宰的羊栏中”。
第七世纪初期是一个崩溃的时代--------民族的以及社会的--------宗教作为一种道德力量已不复存在而且衰退成为仪式和典礼之用, 世界各大宗教对它们的信奉者的生活已没有什么有益的影响。由佐罗阿斯脱、穆撒和伊撒点燃的神圣的火焰已在人类的血泊中熄灭……在第五和第六世纪, 文明世界濒于混乱。看来 花了四千年才建立起来的伟大文明接近于崩溃……文明像一棵巨大的树, 它的叶子遮盖着世界而它的树枝结出科学、艺术和文学的金黄色果实。此时这棵树在摇摇欲坠, 树干中已不复有虔诚和崇敬的树液流动, 而已中心腐烂 (“Emotion as the Basis of Civilization & Spirit of Islam”)。
这就是神圣的先知穆罕默德, 人类最伟大的导师, 降临这世界以及以 «古兰经» 形式降下的最完美和安拉的最后一本经典时的人类的情况, 因为一本完美的经典只能在一切或大多数邪恶的事物, 尤其是那些称为根本祸患的事物出现和成为既成事物时才会下降。
“海洋和陆地” 这些字指示: (a) 那些纯粹以理智和人们集体经验作为文化和文明基础的国家和那些以安拉的启示作为文化与文明基础的国家; (b) 生活在大陆和岛屿上的那些民族。这节经文意味着世界上所有的国家在政治、社会和道德上都已穿心溃烂。
یہاں لام عاقبت کا ہے۔
The main theme of the foregoing verses consisted in engendering and instilling in man belief in an Almighty and All-Powerful God Who creates, regulates and guides all life. In the present verse we are told that when darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and man consigns God to oblivion and gives himself up to the worship of the gods of his own conception and creation, God raises a Prophet to 'bring back the erring flock into the Master’s fold.'
The beginning of the seventh century was an epoch of disintegration— national and social—and religion had become extinct as a moral force and had become reduced to mere ritual and ceremony and the great Faiths of the world had ceased to exert any healthy influence on the lives of their followers. The Holy flames kindled by Zoroaster, Moses and Jesus had been quenched in the blood of man… In the fifth and sixth centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. It seemed that the great civilization that it had taken four thousand years to con
Commentary:
The main theme of the foregoing verses consisted in engendering and instilling in man belief in an Almighty and All-Powerful God, Who creates, regulates and guides all life. In the present verse we are told that when darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and man consigns God to oblivion and gives himself up to the worship of the false gods of his own conception and creation, God raises a Prophet to bring back "the erring flock into the Master’s fold." Such was the condition of mankind when the Holy Prophet Muhammad, humanity’s greatest Teacher, made his appearance. The following quotations support this contention:
"The beginning of the seventh century was an epoch of disintegration—national and social—and religion had become extinct as a moral force and had become reduced to mere ritual and ceremony and the great Faiths of the world had ceased to exert any healthy influence on the lives of their followers. The holy flames kindled by Zoroaster, Moses and Jesus had been quenched in the blood of man…Incessant war for supremacy, perpetual internecine strife, combined with the ceaseless wrangling of creeds and sects, had sucked the lifeblood out of the hearts of nations, and people of the earth, trodden under the iron heels of a lifeless sacerdotalism, were crying to God to deliver them from the misdeeds of their masters. Never in the history of the world was the need so great, the time so ripe for the appearance of a Deliverer ("Spirit of Islam").
In the fifth and sixth Centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. It seemed that the great civilization that it had taken four thousand years to construct was on the verge of disintegration, and that mankind was likely to return to that condition of barbarism where every tribe and sect was against the next and law and order were unknown. . .It was a time fraught with tragedy. Civilization like a gigantic tree whose foliage had overarched the world and whose branches had borne the golden fruits of art and science and literature, stood tottering, its trunk no longer alive with the flowing sap of devotion and reverence, but rotten to the core". (Emotion as the Basis of Civilization).
The words "land and sea," may signify: (a) such nations as had no experience of Divine revelation and those that believed in heavenly Scriptures; or (b) nations whose cultures and civilizations were based purely on reason and collective human experience and those whose cultures and civilizations were based on Divine revelation; (c) peoples living on the continents and those living in the islands.
The verse means to say that the nations of the world had become corrupt to the very core—politically, socially and morally, and their corruption was the result of "what their hands had wrought."
996
前几节经文的主题, 在人类心中逐渐灌输和形成对优胜和全能的安拉--------他创造、管理和引导所有的生命--------的信仰。这节经文告诉我们说, 当黑暗笼罩大地, 人类完全使安拉湮没无闻而崇拜他们自己杜撰出来的诸神灵时, 安拉选拔一位先知 “把迷途的羊群带回主宰的羊栏中”。
第七世纪初期是一个崩溃的时代--------民族的以及社会的--------宗教作为一种道德力量已不复存在而且衰退成为仪式和典礼之用, 世界各大宗教对它们的信奉者的生活已没有什么有益的影响。由佐罗阿斯脱、穆撒和伊撒点燃的神圣的火焰已在人类的血泊中熄灭……在第五和第六世纪, 文明世界濒于混乱。看来 花了四千年才建立起来的伟大文明接近于崩溃……文明像一棵巨大的树, 它的叶子遮盖着世界而它的树枝结出科学、艺术和文学的金黄色果实。此时这棵树在摇摇欲坠, 树干中已不复有虔诚和崇敬的树液流动, 而已中心腐烂 (“Emotion as the Basis of Civilization & Spirit of Islam”)。
这就是神圣的先知穆罕默德, 人类最伟大的导师, 降临这世界以及以 «古兰经» 形式降下的最完美和安拉的最后一本经典时的人类的情况, 因为一本完美的经典只能在一切或大多数邪恶的事物, 尤其是那些称为根本祸患的事物出现和成为既成事物时才会下降。
“海洋和陆地” 这些字指示: (a) 那些纯粹以理智和人们集体经验作为文化和文明基础的国家和那些以安拉的启示作为文化与文明基础的国家; (b) 生活在大陆和岛屿上的那些民族。这节经文意味着世界上所有的国家在政治、社会和道德上都已穿心溃烂。
3
یہاں لام عاقبت کا ہے۔
3020
Commentary:
The main theme of the foregoing verses consisted in engendering and instilling in man belief in an Almighty and All-Powerful God, Who creates, regulates and guides all life. In the present verse we are told that when darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and man consigns God to oblivion and gives himself up to the worship of the false gods of his own conception and creation, God raises a Prophet to bring back "the erring flock into the Master’s fold." Such was the condition of mankind when the Holy Prophet Muhammad, humanity’s greatest Teacher, made his appearance. The following quotations support this contention:
"The beginning of the seventh century was an epoch of disintegration—national and social—and religion had become extinct as a moral force and had become reduced to mere ritual and ceremony and the great Faiths of the world had ceased to exert any healthy influence on the lives of their followers. The holy flames kindled by Zoroaster, Moses and Jesus had been quenched in the blood of man…Incessant war for supremacy, perpetual internecine strife, combined with the ceaseless wrangling of creeds and sects, had sucked the lifeblood out of the hearts of nations, and people of the earth, trodden under the iron heels of a lifeless sacerdotalism, were crying to God to deliver them from the misdeeds of their masters. Never in the history of the world was the need so great, the time so ripe for the appearance of a Deliverer ("Spirit of Islam").
In the fifth and sixth Centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. It seemed that the great civilization that it had taken four thousand years to construct was on the verge of disintegration, and that mankind was likely to return to that condition of barbarism where every tribe and sect was against the next and law and order were unknown. . .It was a time fraught with tragedy. Civilization like a gigantic tree whose foliage had overarched the world and whose branches had borne the golden fruits of art and science and literature, stood tottering, its trunk no longer alive with the flowing sap of devotion and reverence, but rotten to the core". (Emotion as the Basis of Civilization).
The words "land and sea," may signify: (a) such nations as had no experience of Divine revelation and those that believed in heavenly Scriptures; or (b) nations whose cultures and civilizations were based purely on reason and collective human experience and those whose cultures and civilizations were based on Divine revelation; (c) peoples living on the continents and those living in the islands.
The verse means to say that the nations of the world had become corrupt to the very core—politically, socially and morally, and their corruption was the result of "what their hands had wrought."
2291
The main theme of the foregoing verses consisted in engendering and instilling in man belief in an Almighty and All-Powerful God Who creates, regulates and guides all life. In the present verse we are told that when darkness enshrouds the face of the earth and man consigns God to oblivion and gives himself up to the worship of the gods of his own conception and creation, God raises a Prophet to 'bring back the erring flock into the Master’s fold.'
The beginning of the seventh century was an epoch of disintegration— national and social—and religion had become extinct as a moral force and had become reduced to mere ritual and ceremony and the great Faiths of the world had ceased to exert any healthy influence on the lives of their followers. The Holy flames kindled by Zoroaster, Moses and Jesus had been quenched in the blood of man… In the fifth and sixth centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. It seemed that the great civilization that it had taken four thousand years to con