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 And certainly We raised in every nation an apostle saying: Serve Allah and shun the Shaitan. So there were some of them whom Allah guided and there were others against whom error was due; therefore travel in the land, then see what was the end of the rejecters. 36 (Muhammad), even though you have a strong desire to guide them, be sure that God will not guide those who have gone astray and no one will be able to help them. 37 And they swear by Allah with the most energetic of their oaths: Allah will not raise up him who dies. Yea! it is a promise binding on Him, quite true, but most people do not know; 38 This will be in order that he may manifest unto them that wherein they differ, and that those who disbelieved should come to know that they had been liars. 39 And Our command for anything to occur, when We will it, is that We only say to it, “Be” – and it thereupon happens. 40