Page 345
thumma ʾarsalnā rusulanā tatrā kulla mā jāʾa ʾummatan rasūluhā kadhdhabūhu fa-ʾatbaʿnā baʿḍahum baʿḍan wa-jaʿalnāhum ʾaḥādītha fa-buʿdan li-qawmin lā yuʾminūna
Then We sent Our apostles successively. Whenever there came to a nation its apostle, they impugned him, so We made them follow one another [to extinction] and We turned them into folktales. So away with the faithless lot!
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Mu’minun - Verse 44
44. “Then We sent Our messengers one after another. Whenever there came unto a people their messenger, they belied him, so We caused some of them to follow others (in disaster) and We made them stories. So away with a people that do not believe!”
Sending prophets to various nations is one of the Ways of Allah. (Every society needs a leader. Thought and science alone do not suffice man, for there are many affairs that can only be realized through revelation). Allah decides historical transitions and the destruction of obstinate nations is a manifestation of His imprecation and curse.
(“...and We made them stories...”)
Therefore, this noble verse indicates the fact that the call of the prophets has never been terminated during the course of history. The verse says:
“Then We sent Our messengers one after another...”
The Arabic word /tatra/ is derived from the word /watr/, meaning successively or one after another. And /tawatur-i-’axbar/ means bits of news that arrive one after the other by means of which one is convinced with certainly. This word originally is derived from the word /watr/ which means ‘bowstring’, for it is attached to the ends of the bow at its sack and brings them closer together. (From the point of view of the structure of the word, /tatra/ was originally/ watra/ but, in Arabic, its ‘w’ was changed to a ‘t’).
These heavenly teachers successively came and left but obstinate nations were still unbelieving in such a way that, as the Qur’an says:
“...Whenever there came unto a people their messenger, they belied him...”
When this denial, scandalizing and infidelity exceeded their limits and the final argument had been already presented,
“...so We caused some of them to follow others (in disaster)...”
They were so completely exterminated that only their stories remained among people. As He continues saying:
“...and We made them stories...”
Sometimes a generation becomes extinct, but some of its people survive, existing as sparse populations here and there. Sometimes, however, a generation is wiped out in such a way that only its name remains in the pages of history and in the conversations of people. Such has always been the case among those rebellious nations, the latter group. At the end of the verse, like in the previous verses, the Qur’an adds:
“...So away with a people that do not believe!”
These painful and terrible fates were the results of their unbelief, and therefore they were not particular to just those nations mentioned in this verse. Every oppressing, obstinate, and atheistic group will taste such a fate and it will be so utterly destroyed that only its name will remain in history and among humanity. They will be away from the grace of Allah not only in this world but also in the Hereafter, because the objective meaning of the verse is absolute and encompasses all.