"And We have already destroyed what is around you of [those] towns," He says this to the people of Mecca, and it is the Mother of Towns (Umm al-Qura), from which the earth was spread out, and everything around it is all lands. Allah informed them of the destruction of those whom He destroyed. "And We have diversified the signs that perhaps they might return [from disbelief]," so that those who come after them might return to faith; He is warning them.
﴿وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مَا حَوْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْقرى﴾ يَقُوله لأهل مَكَّة وَهِي أم الْقرى، مِنْهَا دُحِيت الأرضُ، وَمَا حولهَا الْبِلَاد كلهَا أخبر اللَّه بِهَلَاك من أَهْلَكَ ﴿وَصَرَّفْنَا الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّهُم يرجعُونَ﴾ لَعَلَّ مَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ أَنْ يَرْجِعَوا إِلَى الْإِيمَان؛ يُحَذرهُمْ.
