45 Preface فَكَأَيِّن مِن قَريَةٍ أَهلَكناها وَهِيَ ظالِمَةٌ فَهِيَ خاوِيَةٌ عَلىٰ عُروشِها وَبِئرٍ مُعَطَّلَةٍ وَقَصرٍ مَشيدٍYusuf AliHow many populations have We destroyed, which were given to wrong- doing? They tumbled down1 on their roofs. And how many wells are lying idle and neglected,2 and castles lofty and well-built?The roofs fell in first, and the whole structure, walls and all, came tumbling after, as happens in ruins. The place was turned upside down.In a dry country like Arabia, a well stands as a symbol for a living, flourishing population, and many place-names mean “the well of so-and-so” e.g., Bir ʿAlī, a village just south of Medīna, the quality of whose drinking water is famous, or Abyar Ibn Hassan, a noted stopping place on the road from Mecca to Medīna, about 92 miles from Medīna.