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وَلَوۡلَا كَلِمَةٞ سَبَقَتۡ مِن رَّبِّكَ لَكَانَ لِزَامٗا وَأَجَلٞ مُّسَمّٗى
Were it not for a prior decree from your Lord [O Prophet] and a time already set, they would have already been punished.
Explanation & meanings · 2
- That He will not punish until the argument is established on them on the Day of Judgment.
- He would have punished the disbelievers in the life of this world as He did with the destroyed nations of the past.