( ولقد بعثنا في كل أمة رسولا ) أي : كما بعثنا فيكم ، ( أن اعبدوا الله واجتنبوا الطاغوت ) وهو كل معبود من دون الله ، ( فمنهم من هدى الله ) أي : هداه الله إلى دينه ، ( ومنهم من حقت عليه الضلالة ) أي : وجبت بالقضاء السابق حتى مات على كفره ، ( فسيروا في الأرض فانظروا كيف كان عاقبة المكذبين ) أي : مآل أمرهم ، وهو خراب منازلهم بالعذاب والهلاك .
We had sent to every previous nation a Messenger instructing his nation to worship Allah alone, and leave the worship of others beside Him such as idols, satans etc. Some of them were guided by Allah and had faith in Him, while others rejected Allah and went against His Messenger so He did not guide them and they deserved misguidance. So travel through the earth to see for yourselves what the end result of the deniers was after the punishment and destruction came upon them.