Overall meaning : Allah, Exalted be He, addresses the idolaters who ascribe partners to Him, saying that He destroyed the nations before them when they did wrong by associating partners with Him and rejecting His messengers. These messengers brought them clear, conclusive signs and proofs proving their truthfulness, but they obstinately refused to believe them, for Allah sealed up their hearts due to their intense unbelief and outright rejection of the truth. Thus does Allah punish the unbelievers who are lost in sin and who persist in overstepping His limits.
He then has made them their successors in the land after destroying them to see how they will act.