Al-An'am (The Cattle): (6) Have they not seen...

When God Almighty forbade them from that turning away, denial, and mockery, He followed it up with what serves as an admonition and sincere advice in this matter.

He admonished them by citing the past generations, such as the people of Noah, 'Ad, Thamud, the people of Lot, the people of Shu'ayb, Pharaoh, and others.

If it is asked: What is a Qarn (generation/century)? We reply: Al-Wahidi said: A Qarn is a people gathered together in a period of time. The duration in which a people assemble and then separate by death is a Qarn, because those who come after them are another group who gathered, thus they are another Qarn. The evidence for this is the Prophet's saying (peace be upon him): "The best of generations is my generation." Its derivation is from al-Aqran (peers/contemporaries). Since the lifespan of people is mostly sixty, seventy, or eighty years, some said: A Qarn is sixty years, others said seventy, and some said eighty. The most correct view is that it is not fixed to a specific time period without increase or decrease; rather, it refers to the people of every era. When the majority of them have passed away, it is said that the Qarn has ended.

Know that God Almighty described the past generations with three types of attributes:

The First Attribute: His saying, {We established them in the land as We have not established you} (6:6). The author of Al-Kashshaf said: Makkana lahu fi al-ard means "We gave him a place and similar things in the land." Hence His saying: {Indeed, We established him in the land} (Al-Kahf: 84) and {Or have We not established them...} (Al-Qasas: 57). As for Makkana-tuhum fi al-ard, it means "We made them firm therein," as in His saying: {And We had established them in what We have not established you therein} (Al-Ahqaf: 26). Because these two meanings are close, God combined them in {We established them in the land as We have not established you}. The meaning is: We did not grant the people of Mecca the same abundance that We granted to 'Ad, Thamud, and others, such as robustness in physique, vastness in wealth, and strength through worldly means.

The Second Attribute: His saying: {And We sent down the sky upon them in torrents} (6:6). This means rain/downpour. Al-Sama' (the sky) here means rain. Madrar means abundant in pouring; its origin is from the saying darra al-laban (the milk flowed) when a large amount comes out to the milker. Madrar can describe the clouds, or it can describe the rain. It is said sahab madrar if its rains follow one another continuously. The form Mif'al often comes to denote exaggeration in the adjective. Mujahid said: {Madraran} means continuously, one after another. The masculine and feminine forms are the same for Madrar.

The Third Attribute: His saying: {And We made the rivers flow beneath them} (6:6). This refers to the abundance of gardens/orchards.

Know that the purpose of these descriptions is that those past nations found more worldly benefits than the people of Mecca found. Then, the Almighty clarified that despite their great honor in this world through these means, and their abundance in number, wealth, and physique, what you heard happened to them due to their disbelief. This meaning necessitates taking heed and waking up from the sleep of heedlessness and the slumber of ignorance.

Here remain some questions:

The First Question: In this bounty, there is only the mention that they were destroyed. However, this destruction is not exclusive to them; the Prophets and the believers were also destroyed. So how is it appropriate to present this statement as a deterrent against disbelief when it is shared by both the disbeliever and others?

The Answer: The intent is not deterrence merely by death and destruction. Rather, the intent is that they sold their religion for worldly gain, thus losing it, and remained in severe torment due to deprivation from religion. This meaning is not shared between the disbeliever and the believer.

The Second Question: How did He say {Have they not seen} when the people did not affirm the truthfulness of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in what he reported, and they also did not witness the events of the preceding nations?

The Answer: The stories of the predecessors were famous among people, so it is unlikely to say they never heard these tales. Merely hearing them is sufficient for taking heed.

The Third Question: What is the benefit in mentioning the creation of other generations after them?

The Answer: The benefit is to alert them that it is not difficult for the Almighty to destroy them and empty their lands of them, for He is capable of creating other people in their place to inhabit their lands, like His saying: {And He fears not the consequence thereof} (Ash-Shams: 15). And God knows best.

**{7 < {And if We had sent down to you a Book written on paper, and they had touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would have said, "This is nothing but plain magic."} > 7

<**