(What happened to all those generations proves that) no community can ever hasten on the end of its term, nor can they delay it (once it has been decided by God because of their beliefs and life-styles)
No nation may outstrip its term, nor do they postpone (it)
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim
No people or nation can predate their set period of time nor can they postdate it either -includes: span of prosperity, of misery, of other conditions as well as that of life