Tafsir
Tafsir of Al-Hijr 4
وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا وَلَهَا كِتَابٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
And We did not destroy any city but that for it was a known decree.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir · English· Passage 4–5
Every Township has its allotted Time
Allah is informing us that He never destroys a township until He has established evidences for it and its allotted time has ended. When the time for a nation's destruction has come, He never delays it, and He never moves its appointed time forward. This was a message and a warning to the people of Makkah, telling them to give up their Shirk, their stubbornness and disbelief for which they deserved to be destroyed.
Tafsir text: quran.com and the House of Islam API. · Al-Hijr 15:4–5