Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:5

And never did We destroy a township but there was a known decree for it. No nation can advance its term, nor delay it. Allah is informing 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