Those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity say: "Were Allah to will so, neither we nor our forefathers would have worshipped any other than Him, nor would we have prohibited anything without His command." Their predecessors proffered similar excuses. Do the Messengers have any other duty but to plainly convey the Message? 35 To every nation We sent a Messenger who told its people, "Worship God and stay away from satan." Some of them were guided by God and others were doomed to go astray. Travel through the land and see how terrible was the end for those who rejected the truth! 36 (O Muhammad), howsoever eager you may be to show them the Right Way, Allah does not bestow His guidance on those whom He lets go astray; and in fact none will be able to help them. 37 They swear emphatically in the name of God that God will not raise the dead. On the contrary, it is a promise incumbent on Him, though most men do not understand, 38 (Through the resurrection) God wants to make a clear distinction between right and wrong and make the unbelievers know that they were liars. 39 Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is but that We say to it, "Be," and it is. 40