129وَلَولا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَت مِن رَبِّكَ لَكانَ لِزامًا وَأَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى(Saheeh International)And if not for a word1 that preceded from your Lord, it [i.e., punishment] would have been an obligation [due immediately],2 and [if not for] a specified term [decreed]. See footnote to 10:19.Allāh would have punished the disbelievers in this world as He did with previous peoples.