And assuredly We sent apostles before thee and We made for them wives and progeny, and it is not for an apostle to produce a verse except by the command of Allah; for every time there is a Book. 38 Allah erases and confirms whatever He wills; and only with Him is the real script. 39 Whether We allow you to see (the punishment) We have promised them, or end your life before (its execution), it is certainly for you to convey the message; the reckoning is for Us to do. 40 Have, then, they [who deny the truth] never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment,] gradually depriving it of all that is best thereon? For, [when] God judges, there is no power that could repel His judgment: and swift in reckoning is He! 41 And indeed those before them had plotted; therefore Allah Himself is the Master of all strategies; He knows all what every soul earns; and soon will the disbelievers realise for whom is the final abode. 42 And [if] they who are bent on denying the truth say [unto thee, O Prophet,] "Thou hast not been sent [by God]", say thou: "None can bear witness between me and you as God does; and [none can bear witness as does] he who truly understands this divine writ. 43