Exegesis of {Indeed, your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful}

Question:
His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Al-An'am: 165]?

Answer:
That is, if He wills , if He wills, He hastens it... And look, if you want to know a single example: the people of Noah defied him. How long did he stay among them? A thousand years minus fifty years. They opposed him and lied to him for a thousand years minus fifty years, nine hundred and fifty years. They were given respite, and then the punishment came to them through drowning. A long period, nine hundred and fifty years.
It is said that Pharaoh was given respite for four hundred years. He lived four hundred years and was not punished except after a long period...
This indicates the breadth of Allah's forbearance , and that He does not hasten. Here He says: These Christians have filled the earth, and He grants them well-being and provides for them, while they say: "Allah is the third of three." Likewise, the Jews gathered here and there and here, and they say: "Al-‘Azir is the son of Allah." They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and they have lied to the messengers and killed the prophets, and yet He gave these people respite.
Q: Does this mean that the people of Noah lived until the punishment took them?
The Shaykh: It is possible that many of them lived, and it is possible that many of them died before that. The point is that the punishment did not befall them except after a long period.