فَلَوْلَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ أُو۟لُوا۟ بَقِيَّةٍۢ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْفَسَادِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا مِّمَّنْ أَنجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ ۗ وَٱتَّبَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مَآ أُتْرِفُوا۟ فِيهِ وَكَانُوا۟ مُجْرِمِينَ
How to read it
Falaw'lā kāna mina l-qurūni min qab'likum' 'ūlū baqiyyatin yan'haw'na ʻani l-fassādi fī l-'ar'ḍi 'illā qalīlan mmimman' 'anjay'nā min'hum' . wa-ttabaʻa -lladhīna ẓalamū mā 'ut'rifū fīhi wakānū muj'rimīna
Why were there not, among the generations before you, persons possessed of balanced good sense, prohibiting (men) from mischief in the earth - except a few among them whom We saved (from harm)? But the wrong-doers pursued the enjoyment of the good things of life which were given them, and persisted in sin.
Translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali
