فَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرۡيَةٍ أَهۡلَكۡنَٰهَا وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٞ فَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا وَبِئۡرٖ مُّعَطَّلَةٖ وَقَصۡرٖ مَّشِيدٍ ٤٥
Fakaʾayyim min qaryatin ahlaknāhā wa hiya ẓālimatun fahiya khāwiyatun ʿalā ʿurūshihā wa biʾrim muʿaṭṭalatiw wa qaṣrim mashīd.
And how many a city did We destroy while it was committing wrong - so it is [now] fallen into ruin1 - and [how many] an abandoned well and [how many] a lofty palace.2
Translation: Sahih International
Footnotes (2)
- Literally, "fallen in upon its roofs," i.e., after the roofs of its buildings had caved in, the walls collapsed over them.
- i.e., How many wells have been left inoperative, and how many palaces have been emptied of their occupants in the past.