Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:5
No nation will precede its term, nor will they remain thereafter.
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.
Allah, exalted be His praise, says: no people has outstripped its appointed term ahead of that term which Allah has fixed as the final time for its destruction, nor has the destruction of that people been deferred beyond the term that was fixed for it.
As al-Mathnā related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning the saying مَا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ : he said: we are of the opinion that when the appointed term has arrived, it is not deferred by a single hour and not brought forward by a single hour. But as for the case in which the appointed term has not yet arrived: then Allah defers what He wills and brings forward what He wills.
