If Sunnah (divine laws) are considered to be God’s methods to run the world, a relation can be drawn between it and the laws of history.
Historians have always pondered about whether there are laws dominating the movement of societies throughout history and whether human societies follow any certain laws.
One way to study this in the Quran is looking at history’s laws like historians do.
Here we are looking for overall laws that can be observed wherever in history we look. If these laws existed before, we can say they will exist in the future as well.
If we look at, for instance, traffic laws, we see they may change in time. But there are laws in life that never change. For example water boils in 100 degrees Celsius and this is an unchanging law.
There are contents in the verses of the Holy Quran from which laws of history can be deduced. A group of these contents are those that include words such as Sunnah (divine laws), Kitab (book) and Kalamah (word). God says in Verse 82 of Surah Yunus: “Allah verifies the truth by His Words, even though the sinners hate it.”
In Verse 58 of Surah Al-Isra, we read: “There is no village except that it shall be destroyed or that We will punish it with a stern punishment before the Day of Resurrection. That is inscribed in the Book.” This can be considered as a kind of law.
Another group of contents are about some events that God mentions and relates it to a law. From example in verses 127, 128 and 129 of Surah Al-Baqarah, there is reference to God being Aziz (invincible), Hakim (wise), Sami’I (all-hearing), and Aleem (all-knowing).
We also read at the end of verse 260 of the Surah that God is Aziz and Hakim. Here there is a relation between the demand of Prophet Abraham (AS) and God being Aziz and Hakim.
The third reason for existence of laws of history in the Quran is that the Holy Book highlights the reason of events that can be generalized. For instance, in verses 15 to 21 of Surah Saba, it points out that the gardens of the People of Saba were destroyed because of their Kufr (disbelief). God underlines the certainty of this law.
Moreover, the Quran pays special attention to the overall fate of society. When it says there is a definite period for every society, it signifies the overall course of history. Also, God says in Verse 5 of Surah Al-Qasas: “But We have decided to grant a favor to the suppressed ones by appointing them leaders and heirs of the land.”
So if we look at the Quran from this viewpoint, we would find contents that are related to laws of history.