Surat Yunus Verse No. 13: Reading and listening
Translation of the verse 13 from Surah Yunus : Number of verses 109 - - page 209 - Part 11.
﴾وَلَقَدۡ أَهۡلَكۡنَا ٱلۡقُرُونَ مِن قَبۡلِكُمۡ لَمَّا ظَلَمُواْ وَجَآءَتۡهُمۡ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ وَمَا كَانُواْ لِيُؤۡمِنُواْۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ ﴿
[ يونس: 13]
And indeed, We destroyed generations before you, when they did wrong while their Messengers came to them with clear proofs, but they were not such as to believe! Thus do We requite the people who are Mujrimun (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals, etc.).
English - Sahih International
And We had already destroyed generations before you when they wronged, and their messengers had come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe. Thus do We recompense the criminal people
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
(10:13) Surely We destroyed the nations (which had risen to heights of glory in their times) before you *16 when they indulged in wrong-doing *17 and refused to believe even when their Messengers brought clear signs to them. Thus do We recompense the people who are guilty.
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
*16). In Arabic, the word qarn, which occurs in the above verse, usually denotes 'the people of a given age'. However, the word in its several usages in the Qur'an, connotes a 'nation' which, wielded in its heyday, whether fully or partially, the reins of world leadership. When it is said that a certain nation was 'destroyed' this does not necessarily mean its total annihilation. When any such nation suffers the loss of its ascendancy and leadership, when its culture and civilization become extinct, when its identity is effaced, in fact, when such a nation disintegrates and its component pans become assimilated into other nations, then it is fair to say that it has suffered destruction.
*17). The expression zulm (wrong-doing, injustice) in the above verse has not been used in the limited sense in which it is generally used. Instead, here the word embraces the whole range of sins which consists of man exceeding the limits of service and obedience to God. (For further explanation see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, al-Baqarah, 2, n. 49, p. 64 - Ed.)