Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:4
And We did not destroy any city but that for it was a known decree.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Exalted — blessed be His remembrance — says: وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا ("And We did not destroy"), O Muḥammad, مِنْ the inhabitants of قَرْيَةٍ among the villages and towns whose inhabitants We destroyed in the past, إِلا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌ مَعْلُومٌ ("except that they had an appointed writ") — that is to say: except that they had a fixed term and a known duration; We did not destroy them before they had reached that term. When they reached it, We destroyed them at that moment. He thus says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: so too is it with the inhabitants of your town from which you originate — namely Mecca —: We shall not destroy the polytheists (mushrikīn) among its inhabitants until their appointed writ has reached its term, for it belongs to My decree that I do not destroy the inhabitants of any town until their appointed writ has reached its term.
