Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those who were before them? They were stronger than they in power and more numerous in the earth, so Allah seized them for their sins, and they had no protector from Allah.”

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: This structure is found frequently in the Qur'an, where a question particle is followed by a conjunction and then a sentence. Grammarians have differed on how to parse this structure. Some said that the intended meaning is: “And have they not traveled through the earth?” where the waw is a conjunction connecting to what came before, and the hamza is prefixed to the sentence, introducing it. This view does not require supplying a missing word, but it is objected to that the hamza precedes the conjunction. They responded to this by saying that the hamza is fronted, and that fronting it in such cases is permissible.
The second view among grammarians is that the hamza is prefixed to a supplied word, and the conjunction connects to that supplied word. In that case, we need to identify that supplied word, and only the context can identify it. The omitted word is supplied according to what the context requires. For example, it is said: “Have they not traveled? Did they transgress and not travel through the earth? Or did they neglect and not travel through the earth?” or something that leads to this meaning.
And His saying: Does this mean the travel of hearts through looking, contemplation, and reflection, or does it mean the travel of feet so that a person stands with his own eyes on what happened to previous nations? It is both. So whoever is not able to travel with his feet, let him travel with his heart. But what is the path of his travel with his heart? The path of his travel with his heart is to read the history of previous nations. In that case, by what is this history established? This history is established by only two paths: the first path is the Qur'an, and the second path is the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). For Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said regarding those who came before: And if no one knows them except Allah, then the source of receiving news about them is from Allah or from His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for what the Children of Israel reported about those who came before, this is divided into three categories. The first category: what our Shari'ah has testified to, or what the Qur'an and Sunnah have testified to. This is accepted, not because it is a report of the Children of Israel, but because the Qur'an and Sunnah have testified to its truth.
The second: what the Qur'an and Sunnah have testified to be false. This is rejected, and it is not permissible to speak about it except if a person intends to clarify its falsehood and invalidity.
The third category: what the revelation has not testified to as true or false, meaning what is not in the Qur'an or Sunnah as either confirming or denying it. Regarding this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So it is speech that is permissible to transmit, but it has no benefit, so one should not occupy oneself with it to the neglect of what is more important than it. And by this we know how we travel with our hearts in the news of those who came before. So the source of receiving news about those who came before, the primary and certain source, is the Book and the Sunnah. As for what occurred in the reports of the Children of Israel, you have known that it is in three categories.
And His saying: Some grammarians said that “in” here means “on,” because it is not possible to travel in the interior of the earth, based on the fact that “in” indicates location, and the location surrounds the located thing. Just as if I say “the water is in the vessel,” the vessel surrounds it and the water is in its interior. But perhaps someone will say that this is not definitive, because the meaning of “in the earth” is “on the heights of the earth,” as Allah the Exalted said: And the location here is the location of the atmospheres, meaning in the atmospheres of the earth, and the atmospheres are the location for whoever travels in them.
“So that they observe”: The faw here is said to be a conjunction, and in that case, the travel is negated and the observation is also negated. The intended meaning in this view is: “Or have they not traveled through the earth, so have they not observed therein how was the end of those who were before you?” It is also said that the faw is for causality, meaning that because of their travel, they observe how it was. The two meanings are concomitant, because if they did not travel, they did not observe, and if they traveled, they observed.
And His saying: Is the observation here observation of the heart and insight, or observation of the eye and sight? It depends on what preceded regarding the travel. If it is travel of the heart, then the observation is observation of the heart and insight. If it is travel of the foot, then the observation is observation of the eye and sight. And we have said that the travel is suitable for both, so the observation is also suitable for both.
“How”: A question word, and it is in the position of the object of the verb, as the predicate of “was” which is fronted. And “the end”: its subject is meaning what was their outcome? The mention of the outcome will come, but Allah mentioned their state before He mentioned their outcome. He said: “Stronger”: From strength, which is hardness and greatness.