وَكَمْ And how many wakam We have destroyed ahlaknā of min a town qaryatin which exulted baṭirat (in) its means of livelihood maʿīshatahā And these fatil'ka (are) their dwellings masākinuhum not lam have been inhabited tus'kan after them min after them baʿdihim except illā a little qalīlan And indeed, [We] wakunnā We naḥnu (are) the inheritors l-wārithīna
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. And it is We who were the inheritors.
وَمَا And not wamā was kāna your Lord rabbuka (the) one to destroy muh'lika the towns l-qurā until ḥattā He (had) sent yabʿatha in fī their mother (town) ummihā a Messenger rasūlan reciting yatlū to them ʿalayhim Our Verses āyātinā And not wamā We would be kunnā (the) one to destroy muh'likī the towns l-qurā except illā while their people wa-ahluhā (were) wrongdoers ẓālimūna
And never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother [i.e., principal city] a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.