This great verse is a general divine law that no human being, neither the messengers, nor any of the creation. Allah (swt) addressed the most honorable of His creation by saying:
إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ
{Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die.} (Az-Zumar: 30)
And He (swt) says:
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ (26) وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ (27) فَبِأَيِّ آلَاء رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
{Everyone upon the earth will perish, (26) And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor. (27) So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?} (Ar-Rahmaan: 26-28)
And He (swt) says:
وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ الله كِتَابًا مُّؤَجَّلاً
{And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allah at a decree determined. And whoever desires the reward of this world – We will give him thereof; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter – We will give him thereof. And we will reward the grateful.} (Aal-Imran: 145)
So this noble verse presents this general law that humanity has not been able until this moment and will not be able until Allah (swt) inherits the earth and those who are on it, to delay for a moment a person’s death whose time has come:
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ فَإِذَا جَاء أَجَلُهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
{And for every nation is a [specified] term. So when their time has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].} (Al-A’raaf: 34)
So do not look at the worldly life with one eye, for many people think that Allah (swt) created creation for this world only, so they see part of this life not the whole, for that, Allah (swt) wanted to make it clear to His creation the law that no one can leave behind, which is death.
When Imam Ali (may Allah honor his face) used to come to people to offer them condolences on the death of a dear to their hearts he was saying:
“Poor son of Adam, his term is written, his faults are hidden, his work is preserved, the bug afflicts him, the sweat stinks him. I wonder how could he rejoices in this world while his day destroys his month, and his month destroys his year, and his year destroys his life, how can he rejoice in this world whose life leads him his death, and his age leads him to his term?”
وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ {you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection}: You do not ask for a reward for your work in this worldly life, rather the reward that you will receive is on the Day of Resurrection, and this reward is endless, whereas the reward in this world is short; because the worldly life has an end, so when Allah (swt) says:
وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ {you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection}: This is continuous without end, it is the eternal and infinite reward of Paradise.
فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ {So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire].}: As soon as you are drawn away from the Fire you won, so what if you entered Paradise! The law that people should not lose sight of:
وَما الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ {And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.}: In this regards, the Prophet (saws) said:
“What do I have to do with the world! I am not in the world but as a rider seeking shade under a tree, then he catches his breath and leaves it.”[1]
A person in this world cannot maintain health, youth, money, or life because he is changeable. Today you are strong and tomorrow you are weak, today you are in a good health and tomorrow you are sick, today you are rich and tomorrow you are poor, today you are alive and tomorrow you are dead, so you are in a world of changes. Therefore, the world is the enjoyment of delusion, man is deceived by it, and Allah (swt) called it this life a lower life, meaning that there is a higher life and it is the Hereafter. The lower life will end, but the higher life is the enduring life.
وَمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
{And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.} (Al-Ankaboot: 64)
[1] Sunan at-Tirmidhi: Chapter of asceticism, Hadith No. 2377.