Surah Al-Hijr · سُوْرَةُ الْحِجْرِ · Juz 14
Q 15:4
وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
Translations
And We did not destroy any city but that for it was a known decree.Or Nous ne détruisons aucune cité sans qu'elle n'ait eu [un terme fixé en] une Ecriture connue.Tafsir
For each oppressive town that became destroyed, Allah already knew of its fixed time. The destruction will neither come before or after its time.
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it (4)No nation can advance its term, nor delay it (5)
Every Township has its allotted Time
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.
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net