And if We hold back from them the punishment for a limited time, they will surely say,1 "What detains it?" Unquestionably, on the Day it comes to them, it will not be averted from them, and they will be enveloped by what they used to ridicule.
If I postpone the punishment that the idolaters deserve in this world for a period of a few days, they will attempt to mock the punishment by asking for it to come quickly, by saying, ‘What is it that is holding the punishment back from us?’ Of course, the punishment that they deserve has a fixed time with Allah, and on the day when it comes to them they will not find anyone to avert it from them. Instead, the punishment that they used to poke fun at by asking for it to come quickly will fall upon them and surround them.