The Quran

قَد مَكَرَ الَّذينَ مِن قَبلِهِم فَأَتَى اللَّهُ بُنيانَهُم مِنَ القَواعِدِ فَخَرَّ عَلَيهِمُ السَّقفُ مِن فَوقِهِم وَأَتاهُمُ العَذابُ مِن حَيثُ لا يَشعُرونَ

Muhammad Asad

Those who lived before them did, too, devise many a blasphemy¹- whereupon God visited with destruction all that they had ever built,² [striking] at its very foundations, so that the roof fell in upon them from above³ and suffering befell them withouttheir having perceived whence it came.

Lit., "schemed" (makara): i.e., they blasphemed by describing the divine revelations as "fables of ancient times" and by refusing to admit the truth of God's existence or of His oneness and uniqueness.
Lit., "their building" (see next note).
This is obviously a metaphor (Razi) describing the utter collapse of all endeavours - both individual and social - rooted in godlessness and false pride.