And how many a city have We destroyed that was insolent in its [way of] living, and those are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them except briefly.1 And it is We who were the inheritors.
Translation: Saheeh International (English)
1 By travelers seeking temporary shelter. The reference is to the ruins which were visible to the Quraysh during their journeys.
مَعِيشَتَهَاۖ(in) its means of livelihoodmaʿīshatahā
فَتِلۡكَAnd thesefatil'ka
مَسَٰكِنُهُمۡ(are) their dwellingsmasākinuhum
لَمۡnotlam
تُسۡكَنhave been inhabitedtus'kan
مِّنۢafter themmin
بَعۡدِهِمۡafter thembaʿdihim
إِلَّاexceptillā
قَلِيلٗاۖa littleqalīlan
وَكُنَّاAnd indeed, [We]wakunnā
نَحۡنُWenaḥnu
ٱلۡوَٰرِثِينَ(are) the inheritorsl-wārithīna
Tafsir
And how many a city were there which were ungrateful for Allah’s blessings on them, then they exceeded the bounds in sins and disobedience, so I sent a punishment to them and destroyed them through it. So these are their dwellings in ruins, with people passing by them. They were not inhabited after those who lived in them, except for a few travellers. And it is I who will inherit the heavens, the earth and everyone in them.