Then the unbelievers told their Messengers: "You will have to return to the fold of our faith or else we shall banish you from our land." Thereupon their Lord revealed to them: "We will most certainly destroy these wrong-doers, 13 and most certainly shall We cause you to dwell on earth [long] after they have passed away: this is [My promise] unto all who stand in awe of My presence, and stand in awe of My warning!" 14 And they prayed [to God] that the truth be made to triumph. And [thus it is:] every arrogant enemy of the truth shall be undone [in the life to come,] 15 Hell went after him, and he will be made to drink liquid pus*. (* Discharged from the wounds of other people in hell.) 16 he will sip and will not find it easy to swallow it. Death will approach him from every quarter, yet he will not die. More intense suffering will lie ahead of him. 17 The works of those who deny their Lord are like ashes which the wind scatters on a stormy day: they shall gain nothing from what they do. To act thus is to stray far into error. 18 Seest thou not that Allah created the heavens and the earth in Truth? If He so will, He can remove you and put (in your place) a new creation? 19 Nor is that for Allah any great matter. 20 And all [mankind] will appear before God [on the Day of Judgment]; and then the weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: "Behold, We were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of something of God's chastisement?" [And the others] will answer: "If God would but show us the way [to salvation,] we would indeed guide you [towards it]. It is [now] all one, as far as we are concerned, whether we grieve impatiently or endure [our lot] with patience: there is no escape for us!" 21