Transliteration:( Wa maaa ahlaknaa min qaryatin illaa wa lahaa kitaabum ma'loom )
And We did not destroy any town except that it had a known decree [6].
The time of every nation's punishment is recorded in the Divine Tablet. Those pious servants whose gaze is on the Divine Tablet are fully aware of all these matters because this inscription is not for Allah Almighty but for these pious servants of Him. Thus, the angels of punishment bring down punishment as per this inscription, while the Prophets give prior warning about it, after reading it.
4. And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it. 5. No nation can advance its term, nor delay it.
Allah is informing us that He never destroys a township until He has established evidences for it and its allotted time has ended. When the time for a nation’s destruction has come, He never delays it, and He never moves its appointed time forward. This was a message and a warning to the people of Makkah, telling them to give up their Shirk, their stubbornness and disbelief for which they deserved to be destroyed.
(15:4) Whenever We destroyed a town, a definite term had previously been decreed for it.[2]
2. This is to refute the fallacious argument of the disbelievers that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not a true Prophet because they had received no prompt punishment for their disbelief. It is like this: We have never seized a community at the first committal of kufr.
We prescribe a limit for every community to hear and understand the message and reform its ways. Then We tolerate its mischief and evil deeds up to that limit and allow it full freedom to do as it likes, and give it respite till the term expires. That is why We are tolerating their attitude of ridicule and denial. For the full meaning of respite, please refer to (Surah Ibrahim, ayat 10) note 18.
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