[22].Surah Al-Hajj [The Pilgrimage]: Ayat 47-48

Ayat 47. And they ask you to hasten on the torment! And Allah fails not His Promise. And verily, a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of what you reckon.

Ayat 48. And many a township did I give respite while it was given to wrong-doing. Then (in the end) I seized it (with punishment). And to Me is the (final) return (of all).

[Tafseer] Yet they ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His Promise. Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning. If Allah gives respite, those to whom it is given have a real chance of repentance and amendment. He will not curtail His promise of respite. But on the other hand He has promised to call everyone to account for his deeds, and this involves justice and punishment for sin. This promise will also come true. It is foolish to try to hasten it. Time with Him is nothing. We keep count of time for our relative calculations. His existence is absolute, and not conditioned by Time or Place. What we call a thousand years may be nothing more than a day or a minute to Him (Cf. 26:204 and 37:176). And to how many populations did I give respite, which were given to wrong-doing? in the end I punished them. To me is the destination (of all). The argument begun in 22:45 is now rounded oft and closed. 

Hazrat Ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: When the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) and his Companions reached Al-Hijr, the dwellings of the Thamud people, he admonished his Companions (saying), "Do not pass by these people who are being tormented, without weeping, lest the punishment should befall you as it had befallen them.'' [Al-Bukhari Book 04, Chapter 55, Hadith # 564].

Another narration is: Ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: When the Messenger of Allah [SAWW](PBUH) passed near Al-Hijr, he said, "Do not enter without weeping, the dwellings of those who wronged themselves, lest the same chastisement should fall upon you as it had fallen upon them.'' Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then covered his head and sped up until he crossed the valley of the tormented people.

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Al-Hajj Ayat 48."many a township did I give respite while it was given to wrong-doing. Then (in the end) I seized it (with punishment)." . The Thamud were the people to whose guidance Allah sent Prophet Salih PBUH. They lived between Al-Madinah and Syria. In 10 A.H. when the Prophet [SAWW](PBUH) went to the Syrian border for the Tabuk expedition, he also passed through this ruined territory. This Hadith is related to the address which he gave to his Companions on the occasion. Here is an instruction that when we happen to pass through the territory of a nation destroyed in the past as a result of Divine wrath, we are advised to quicken one's pace. That is why we have been commanded to avoid the company of the corrupt and the wrongdoers, lest we meet their bad end, too. As the Qur'an says: "And incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you.'' (11:113) May Allah save us from it! .