And it was not the custom of your Lord to destroy the towns at all times until He sends in the town which is its mother, meaning: its origin and its chief, which are its deeds and its followers, a Messenger to establish the proof and cut off the excuse, while knowing that they will not believe. Or it is not in the decree of Allah and His prior judgment to destroy the towns on earth until He sends a Messenger in the mother of the towns - meaning Mecca - and he is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, the Seal of the Prophets. And it has been read: 'Ummaha' with the hamzah pronounced as 'u' and with it broken, following the grammatical case. This is a clarification of His justice and His exaltation above injustice, as He informed that He does not destroy them except if they deserve destruction due to their wrongdoing. [Mahran said: 'This is a clarification of His justice and His exaltation above injustice, as He informed that He does not destroy them except if they deserve punishment, and they do not deserve it until the proof is established against them by sending the Messengers.' Ahmad said: 'This is a pretext from Al-Zamakhshari for a fallen answer to a question posed to the Qadarites, for which they have no answer. The question arises from this verse and it is said: If the intellect were to judge about Allah, the Exalted, with the rulings of obligation, the proof would be established against the people even if Messengers were not sent, for the intellect is a judge. They find no way to escape this question.], and He does not destroy them while they are wrongdoers except after the proof is confirmed and they are obliged by the sending of the Messengers. And His knowledge of their conditions does not serve as proof against them, and He is exalted above destroying them while they are not wrongdoers, as He said, 'And your Lord would not destroy the towns unjustly while their people were reformers.' So it is stated in His saying 'unjustly' that if He were to destroy them while they were reformers, it would be injustice from Him, and that His state in His richness and wisdom is contrary to injustice. This is indicated by the negation particle with its lam, as Allah, the Exalted, said, 'And Allah would never cause your faith to be lost.'