And We did not send (any messenger) before you but they were men from among the people of the cities, to whom We had communicated. Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how the end of those before them was (brought about)? And the home of the hereafter is better for those who guard (against evil). Then do you not have sense? (Al Quran, Surah Yousuf, Chapter 12: Verse 109)
The above verse shall be understood in context as follows:
12-109: And We did not send (any messenger) before you but they were men from among the people of the cities, to whom We had communicated. Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how the end of those before them was (brought about)? And the home of the hereafter is better for those who guard (against evil). Then do you not have sense?
12-110: Our help came to them at the point when the messengers were despaired, and they thought that they were denied. Then whom We willed, he was saved. And Our punishment was not turned away from the criminal people.
12-111: In their narratives there is indeed a lesson for men of understanding. The (Quran) is not a fabricated statement but it is a confirmation of what is before it (of the earlier Divine books) and an explanation of everything and a guide and a mercy for a people who believe. (R 12)
Summarized Commentary:
Allah (SWT) had raised in every community men from among them as His messengers (Chapter 16: Verse 36) who were helped by Him and those who denied were punished. In their histories there is a lesson for the learned. The Quran confirms the truth of the earlier Divine books, it explains everything concerned with us, it guides towards paradise and is thus a mercy for those who believe that it is a Divine revelation.