Muhammad · Madani · ayah 13 of 38

Muhammad 47:13

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ هِىَ أَشَدُّ قُوَّةً مِّن قَرْيَتِكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَخْرَجَتْكَ أَهْلَكْنَـٰهُمْ فَلَا نَاصِرَ لَهُمْ

“And how many a city was stronger than your city [i.e., Makkah] which drove you out? We destroyed them; and there was no helper for them.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Said to a man driven from the city he loved: stronger cities have fallen, and none had anyone to help.

A reflection

Six chimneys, and then one

"How many a town, stronger than your town which drove you out, have We destroyed." The voice is Allah's, and the scale is His. One concise commentary fills in what "stronger" meant: greater in power, in wealth, in children. And it adds the plain conclusion. Destroying the people of Makkah would not tax Him, if He willed it.

That is a sobering thought for any community that feels secure in its numbers. Makkah's leaders were confident. They had the trade routes, the Sanctuary, the alliances, the weight of tradition. They had driven out one man and a handful of followers. They felt they had won.

The ayah sets their strength against a much longer measure. "How many" is a word of countless instances. Town after town stronger than theirs had stood just as proudly, and was gone.

Picture a mill town in a northern valley. A century ago, six great chimneys rose over it, and its name was known across the world. Its owners built grand houses and sat on every committee. Today one chimney remains, kept as a listed monument. The others came down decades ago. Their sites are a supermarket and a housing estate. Children cycle past without knowing what stood there.

Every human pride rests on the assumption that its moment is permanent. The ayah breaks that assumption without raising its voice. It simply counts.

This is not a boast. It is a perspective given to someone who was suffering. Allah reminds His Messenger, and every reader, Who decides how long any power lasts. The strongest town on earth stands by His leave, and stands only as long as He wills.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.