۞ AND [then] We appointed for Moses thirty nights [on Mount Sinai]; and We added to them ten, whereby the term of forty nights set by his Sustainer was fulfilled. And Moses said unto his brother Aaron: "Take thou my place among my people; and act righteously, and follow not the path of the spreaders of corruption." 142 When Moses arrived at the appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: "O Lord, reveal Yourself to me that I may behold You." "You cannot behold Me," He said. "But look at the mountain: If it remains firm in its place you may then behold Me." But when his Lord appeared on the mountain in His effulgence, it crumbled to a heap of dust, and Moses fell unconscious. When he came to, he said: "All glory to You. I turn to You in repentance, and I am the first to believe." 143 He said: O Musa! verily I have chosen thee above mankind by My messages and by My speaking; so hold fast thou that which I have given thee, and be of the thankful. 144 And We ordained for him in the tablets admonition of every kind and clear explanation of all things; so take hold of them with firmness and enjoin your people to take hold of what is best thereof; I will show you the abode of the transgressors. 145 From My messages shall I cause to turn away all those who, without any right, behave haughtily on earth: for, though they may see every sign [of the truth,] they do not believe in it, and though they may see the path of rectitude, they do not choose to follow it - whereas, if they see a path of error, they take it for their own: this, because they have given the lie to Our messages, and have remained heedless of them," 146 Those who reject Our signs and the meeting in the Hereafter,- vain are their deeds: Can they expect to be rewarded except as they have wrought? 147