Then Allah says:

﴿أَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴾

(Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them Verily, they will not return to them.) meaning, `do you not learn a lesson from those whom Allah destroyed before you of those who disbelieved in the Messengers They came to this world only once, and will not return to it.' It is not as many of those ignorant and immoral people claim that

﴿إِنْ هِىَ إِلاَّ حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا﴾

("There is nothing but our life of this world! We die and we live!'') (23:37). This was the belief in the cycle of reincarnation; in their ignorance they believed that they would come back to this world as they had been before. But Allah refuted their false belief and said:

﴿أَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴾

(Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them Verily, they will not return to them.) Allah's saying:

﴿وَإِن كُلٌّ لَّمَّا جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ ﴾

(And surely, all -- everyone of them will be brought before Us.) means, all of the past nations and those that are yet to come, will be gathered and brought to account before Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, on the Day of Judgement, and they will be requitted according to their good and evil deeds. This is like the Ayah:

﴿وَإِنَّ كُـلاًّ لَّمَّا لَيُوَفِّيَنَّهُمْ رَبُّكَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ﴾

(And verily, to each of them your Lord will repay their works in full.) (11:111).

﴿وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرْضُ الْمَيْتَةُ أَحْيَيْنَـهَا وَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهَا حَبّاً فَمِنْهُ يَأْكُلُونَ - وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا جَنَّـتٍ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَـبٍ وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ - لِيَأْكُلُواْ مِن ثَمَرِهِ وَمَا عَمِلَتْهُ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَفَلاَ يَشْكُرُونَ - سُبْحَـنَ الَّذِى خَلَق الاٌّزْوَجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الاٌّرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

(33. And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof.) (34. And We have made therein gardens of date palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein.) (35. So that they may eat of the fruit thereof -- and their hands made it not. Will they not then give thanks) (36. Glory be to Him Who has created all the pairs of that which the earth produces, as well as of their own kind, and of that which they know not.)