were allah to take people to task for their wrongdoing he would not have spared even a single living creature on the face of the earth. but he grants them respite until an appointed term. and when that term arrives they have no power to delay it by a single moment nor to hasten it.
ولو يؤاخذ الله الناس بظلمهم ما ترك عليها من دابة ولكن يؤخرهم إلى أجل مسمى فإذا جاء أجلهم لا يستأخرون ساعة ولا يستقدمون