Nations of the Past

Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created human-beings on this earth to put them through a test. He has been sending guidance to them through His chosen messengers. The messengers were sent to each and every nation to guide them towards a life successful in the eyes of our Lord and our Creator Allah سبحانه وتعالى. In the Holy Quran, Allah سبحانه وتعالى has mentioned the stories of some prominent nations of the past who were given great power and influence on the earth. When the people of these nations started to practice blatant acts of disobedience to Allah سبحانه وتعالى, messengers were sent to them warning them of the wrath of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and advising them to change their deeds. Very few people believed in the teachings of the messengers and followed them. The majority in each nation openly denied to accept the message, actively opposed the messengers and their mission and tried to prosecute the messengers and their followers. They also made mockery of the signs and miracles exhibited by the messengers. Warning punishments were also given lest they would change. Very few nations did change. Most of them became completely stubborn on their sinful lives. Thus for each of these nations, a time for total destruction was prescribed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى. None of their worldly powers could then save them from the wrath of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, which descended in the form of wind, rain, sound, earth quake or a combination of other natural disasters. No sign of these nations was left on the earth except for some ruins as a reminder for people to come. Allah سبحانه وتعالى saved the messengers and their followers from any harm and they flourished on the earth by His grace and blessings. The Holy Quran describes the stories of the past nation and invites us to ponder upon them. It concluded for us that a life full of fear of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, sense of accountability in the hereafter, good deeds, believing and following the messengers, and being thankful for the blessings of Allah سبحانه وتعالى constitutes a successful life. On the contrary, forgetting Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the Day of Judgement, ignoring the teachings of the messengers, indulging and promoting sinful deeds in order to gain worldly benefits and making a mockery of religious teachings incite the wrath of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and a persistence on this path leads to failure & destruction. These stories also make it clear that the believers will prevail no matter how weak or small in number they are; and that the falsehood will not last no matter how strong it seems. Persistence to the right pathway is the key to success. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى guide us to the right path and include us in the group of His blessed servants.