O believers, if you follow the path shown by God, He will give you a standard (of right and wrong), and overlook your sins, and forgive you. God is abounding in benevolence. 29 Remember how those who bent on denying the truth plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they schemed -- but God also schemed. God is the best of schemers. 30 And when Our revelations are rehearsed unto them, they say: we have heard; we could if we willed, surely say something the like thereof; naught is this but fables of the ancients. 31 And lo, they would say: "O God! If this be indeed the truth from Thee, then rain down upon us stones from the skies, or inflict [some other] grievous suffering on us!" 32 But God would not choose to punish them while you are in their midst, nor afflict them when they are seeking forgiveness. 33 But what have they [now] in their favour that God should not chastise them - seeing that they bar [the believers] from the Inviolable House of Worship, although they are not its [rightful] guardians? None but the God-conscious can be its guardians: but of this most of these [evildoers] are unaware; 34 and their prayers before the Temple are nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. Taste then, [O unbelievers,] this chastisement as an outcome of your persistent denial of the truth! 35 Verily those who disbelieve are expending their riches in order to hinder People from the way of Allah; so they will go on expending them; thereafter they shall become an anguish unto them; then they shall be overcome. And those who disbelieve shall be gathered for Hell. 36 In order that Allah may separate the filthy from the pure, and placing the filthy atop one another, make a heap and throw them into hell; it is they who are the losers. 37