۞ Say thou: are ye indeed those who disbelieve in Him who hath created the earth in two days, and set up unto Him peers? That is the Lord of the worlds. 9 He placed firm mountains on the earth, and blessed it. He measured out its means of sustenance all in four Days; this is for those who ask for it. 10 Then He turned to the heavens, and it was smoke. So He said to it and the earth: "Come with willing obedience or perforce." They said: "We come willingly." 11 Then He completed and finished from their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days and He made in each heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars) to be an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him the All-Mighty, the All-Knower. 12 But if they turn away, tell them: “I warn you against a sudden scourge like that which struck Ad and Thamud.” 13 When Messengers from all sides came to them saying, "Do not worship anything besides God, " they said, "Had our Lord wanted, He would have sent us angelic Messengers. We do not believe in your message". 14 As for Ad, they waxed proud in the land without justification and said: “Who is greater than we in strength?” Did they not see that Allah, Who created them, is greater in strength than they? They continued to deny Our Signs, 15 So We sent on them a furious wind in unlucky days, that We may make them taste the chastisement of abasement in this world's life; and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is much more abasing, and they shall not be helped. 16 And as for [the tribe of] Thamud, We offered them guidance, but they chose blindness in preference to guidance: and so the thunderbolt of shameful suffering fell upon them as an outcome of all [the evil] that they had wrought; 17 And We saved those who believed and used to fear Allah, keep their duty to Him and avoid evil. 18