Surah Al-Mu'minun 23:43

Mention of Other Nations Allah says:

(Then, after them, We created other generations.) meaning, nations and peoples.

(No nation can advance their term, nor can they delay it.) means, they are taken at the appropriate time, as decreed by Allah in His Book that is preserved with Him, before they were created, nation after nation, century after century, generation after generation, successors after predecessors.

(Then We sent Our Messengers in succession.) Ibn `Abbas said, "(This means) following one another in succession." This is like the Ayah:

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah, and avoid Taghut (all false deities)." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified) 16:36.

(Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him;) meaning the greater majority of them. This is like the Ayah:

(Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.) 36:30

(so We made them follow one another,) means, `We destroyed them,' as Allah says:

(And how many generations have We destroyed after Nuh!) 17:17

(and We made them as Ahadith) meaning, stories and lessons for mankind, as Allah says elsewhere:

(so, We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally) 34:19.

Pada ayat ini Allah menegaskan bahwa tidak ada satu umat pun yang dapat mempercepat ajal atau kehancuran mereka, dan tidak pula dapat menundanya. Semua itu berlaku sesuai dengan ketentuan Allah Yang Mahakuasa, yang mengatur alam ini dengan segala isinya dengan tertib, teratur dan lancar. Oleh karena itu, umat-umat yang telah binasa itu tidak dapat mendahului ajalnya yang telah ditentukan dan tidak pula mereka dapat mengundurkannya atau menundanya, sebab setiap umat telah ada ketetapan lebih dahulu di Lauh Mahfuz, berapa lama mereka akan mengalami hidup di dunia.