Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:61
And if Allah were to impose blame on the people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon the earth any creature, but He defers them for a specified term. And when their term has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].
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.
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ (And if Allah were to call mankind to account for their wrongdoing, He would not leave upon her a single living creature) — Allah, exalted be His mention, says: And if Allah were to punish mankind for their wrongdoing — that is, their polytheism (shirk), their unbelief (kufr) and their sins — He would not leave upon the earth a single living creature, for the punishments would strike the good and the wicked alike. وَلَكِنْ يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى (But He defers them to an appointed term): rather, He grants them respite and defers the punishment to the appointed term that He has fixed for them — that is the Day of Judgement and the Resurrection. فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ (And when their term arrives, they can neither delay it for an hour nor advance it): when that appointed term arrives, they can neither delay it for a moment nor advance it by a moment — that is to say: the punishment will strike them at the moment determined by Allah, without any delay or advancement.
Mention of who explained that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِمْ : he said: if Allah had called mankind to account for their wrongdoing, the beasts (dawābb) would have been swept away along with them through the sins of mankind — but Allah grants them respite until an appointed term.