And many a township did We destroy, for they were unjust, and We created other nations after them. 11 And [every time,] as soon as they began to feel Our punishing might, lo! they tried to flee from it 12 Flee not, and return unto that wherein ye luxuriated and your habitations, haply ye will be questioned. 13 They said, "Woe to us! We have been unjust". 14 So they ceased not to cry, until We made them stubble, silent and still. 15 We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in play. 16 Had We wished to find a pastime, We would surely have found it in that which is with Us, if such had been Our will. 17 Nay, but [by the very act of creation] We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes the latter: and lo! it withers away. But woe unto you for all your [attempts at] defining [God] 18 And His is whosoever is in the heavens and the earth; and those nigh unto Him are not too stiff-necked for His worship nor are they weary. 19 They exalt [Him] night and day [and] do not slacken. 20 Or have they taken (for worship) gods from the earth who can raise (the dead)? 21 If there were therein gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne, from all that they ascribe (unto Him). 22 None shall question Him about His works, but they shall be questioned. 23 Or have they taken gods apart from Him? Say: 'Bring your proof! This is the Remembrance of him who is with me, and the Remembrance of those before me. Nay, but the most part of them know not the truth, so therefore they are turning away. 24 And We sent never a Messenger before thee except that We revealed to him, saying, 'There is no god but I; so serve Me.' 25 They say, "The All Merciful has taken a son!" Glory be to Him! They are only His honoured servants: 26 They do not outstrip Him in speech and only act as He commands. 27 He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased. And they stand in awe for fear of Him. 28 ۞ If any of them says, 'I am a god apart from Him', such a one We recompense with Gehenna; even so We recompense the evildoers. 29