Believers! If you fear Allah He will grant you a criterion and will cleanse you of your sins and forgive you. Allah is Lord of abounding bounty. 29 And recall what time those who disbelieved were plotting against thee to confine thee or to slay thee or to drive thee forth: they were plotting and Allah was plotting, and Allah is the Best of plotters. 30 And when Our verses are recited to them they say, “Yes, we have heard – if we wanted we could also say something like this – these are nothing but stories of former people!” 31 And when they said, “O Allah! If this (the Qur’an) is really the truth from You, then shower upon us a rain of stones from the sky, or bring upon us some painful punishment.” 32 But Allah was not to chastise them while you are in their midst; nor was Allah going to chastise them while they sought His forgiveness. 33 But what is there so special they have that God should not punish them when they obstruct people from the Holy Mosque, though they are not its (appointed) guardians? Its guardians could be only those who are pious and devout. But most of them do not know. 34 And naught was their prayer at the House but whistling and hand-clapping. Taste then the torment for ye were to disbelieve. 35 Indeed the disbelievers spend their wealth in order to prevent people from the way of Allah; so they will spend it now, and then regret over it, then they will be defeated; and the disbelievers will be gathered towards hell. 36 In order that Allah may distinguish the vile from the good; and the vile He shall place one upon another, and shall pile it all together, and shall place it into Hell. Those! It is they who are the losers. 37