Sure 15 Al-Hijr — Aya 4
4
وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌۭ مَّعْلُومٌۭ
Und Wir haben nie eine Stadt zerstört, ohne daß ihr eine wohlbekannte Frist bemessen gewesen wäre.
wamā ahlaknā min qaryatin illā walahā kitābun maʿlūmun
Wort für Wort
- وَمَآ wamā And not
- أَهْلَكْنَا ahlaknā We destroyed
- مِن min any
- قَرْيَةٍ qaryatin town
- إِلَّا illā but
- وَلَهَا walahā (there was) for it
- كِتَابٌۭ kitābun a decree
- مَّعْلُومٌۭ maʿlūmun known
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
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.