Surah As-Saaffaat · سُوْرَةُ الصَّافَّاتِ · Juz 23
Q 37:71
وَلَقَدْ ضَلَّ قَبْلَهُمْ أَكْثَرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
Translations
And there had already strayed before them most of the former peoples,En effet, avant eux, la plupart des anciens se sont égarés.Tafsir
Verily, the majority of people before them also went astray. So O Messenger, those to whom you have been sent are not the first to go astray.
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And indeed most of the earlier ones went astray before them (71)And indeed We sent among them warners (72)Then see what was the end of those who were warned (73)Except the chosen servants of Allah (74)
Allah tells us that most of the previous nations went astray, worshipping other gods alongside Allah. He states that He sent among them warners to alert them to the anger, wrath and vengeance of Allah towards those who disbelieve in Him and worship others besides Him. He tells us that they persisted in their opposition to their Messengers and their disbelief in them, so He destroyed those who disbelieved in Him and saved the believers and caused them to prevail. Allah says:
فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُنْذَرِينَ - إِلَّا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ
(Then see what was the end of those who were warned. Except the chosen servants of Allah).
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net