And surely We have explained matters to people in the Qur'an in diverse ways, using all manner of parables. But man is exceedingly contentious. 54 And naught preventeth mankind from believing when the guidance hath come unto them, and from asking foregiveness of their Lord, but that there may come unto them the dispensation of the ancients, or that the torment may come unto them face to face. 55 And We send not the Envoys, but good tidings to bear, and warning. Yet do the unbelievers dispute with falsehood, that they may rebut thereby the truth. They have taken My signs, and what they are warned of, in mockery. 56 And who could be more wicked than he to whom his Sustainer's messages are conveyed and who thereupon turns away from them, forgetting all [the evil] that his hands may have wrought? Behold, over their hearts have We laid veils which prevent them from grasping the truth, and into their ears, deafness; and though thou call them onto the right path, they will never allow themselves to be guided. 57 And your Lord is the Forgiving, full of mercy. If He were to impose blame upon them for what they earned, He would have hastened for them the punishment. Rather, for them is an appointment from which they will never find an escape. 58 And those villages! When they became evil We destroyed them and appointed a meeting for their destruction. 59