We did send messengers before thee, and appointed for them wives and children: and it was never the part of a messenger to bring a sign except as Allah permitted (or commanded). For each period is a Book (revealed). 38 Allah makes to pass away and establishes what He pleases, and with Him is the basis of the Book. 39 BUT WHETHER We let thee see [in thy lifetime, O Prophet, the fulfilment of] some of what We have promised them, or whether We cause thee to die [before its fulfilment] - thy duty is no more than to deliver the message; and the reckoning is Ours. 40 Have they not considered that We have taken over the land and reduced its borders? It is God who issues the irreversible decree and His reckoning is swift. 41 Now those who lived before these [sinners] did, too, devise many a blasphemy - but the most subtle devising is that of God, who knows what each human being deserves: and the deniers of the truth will [in time] come to know to whom the future belongs. 42 (Muhammad), the unbelievers say, "You are not a Messenger." Say, "God and those who have the knowledge of the Book are sufficient witness (to my prophethood)." 43