“Never did We destroy a town without its having a known decree. (4) No community can advance its appointed term, nor can they delay it. (5) They say, ‘O you to whom the Reminder has been sent down, you are surely mad. (6) Why do you not bring us the angels, if you are one of the truthful?’ (7) We do not send down the angels except with the truth; and then they would not be reprieved. (8) Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We are surely its Guardian.” (9)

“Never did We destroy a town”—that is, its inhabitants—“without its having a known decree”: an appointed term which cannot be brought forward. Punishment does not come upon them until they reach it, nor is it delayed from them.

“No community can advance its appointed term”—the particle min is supplementary—“nor can they delay it.” That is, death can neither come early nor be delayed. It was also said that this refers to the appointed punishment.

“They say”—meaning, the idolaters of Mecca—“O you to whom the Reminder has been sent down,” that is, the Quran; by this they meant Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. “You are surely mad.” They mentioned the sending down of the Reminder by way of (1) mockery.

“Why do you not bring us the angels”—to testify to the truthfulness of what you say—“if you are one of the truthful,” namely, that you are a prophet (2).

“We do not send down the angels.” The reciters of Kufah, apart from Abu Bakr, read it with two nūns, with “the angels” in the accusative. Abu Bakr read it with a tā’ bearing a ḍammah and a zāy bearing a fatḥah, with “the angels” in the nominative; while the remaining reciters read it with a tā’ bearing a fatḥah (3) and a zāy bearing a fatḥah, with “the angels” in the nominative. “Except with the truth,” that is, with punishment. Had the angels descended—that is, had they descended visibly—they would have hastened the punishment. “And then they would not be reprieved,” that is, they would not be given any delay. The disbelievers had been demanding that the angels be sent down before their very eyes, and Allah Most High answered them with this. Its meaning is that, had the angels descended visibly, the disbelievers’ respite would have come to an end, and they would have been punished immediately.

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder,” meaning the Quran, “and indeed, We are surely its Guardian”: We preserve the Quran from the devils, lest they