Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:27

And We have indeed destroyed what is around you, O people of Makkah, of the habitations, such as the stone-dwellings of Thamud and the habitations of the people of Salih.

The statement implies a hidden noun (ellipses), or it is a figurative expression where the habitations are used to refer to their inhabitants, due to His saying, Exalted is He: "And We have diversified the signs"—meaning We repeated them—"that perhaps they might return."

The matter of "perhaps" (la'alla) is simple; either the expression of hope is directed at someone other than the Exalted, or "perhaps" is for the purpose of explanation (causality), meaning: in order that they might return from what they are in of disbelief and disobedience to faith and obedience.