Further works on a massive scale are seen in the rise and fall of the nations and the great empires of this world. In their ascendency they seem to be unstoppable.
Where now is the dignity of these great ones when they grope for light and stagger as if they were drunk? – Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a pit. Would they ever have allowed such things to be seen when they were at the height of their powers? But now they have lost all ability to cover themselves and all self-respect is gone. God humbles the mighty as he sees fit and brings about profound changes in individual lives and in the fortunes of nations and no one can resist him; not even if he tells them what he is going to do in advance. If a believer is exalted in this world, let it not go to his head, but let him remember that what God gives, he can just as easily take away again. When he does humble men, it is to bring them to repentance and to teach them that they are no different from any one else.