It is God [alone that has this power - He] who causes all human beings to die at the time of their [bodily] death, and [causes to be as dead,] during their sleep, those that have not yet died: thus, He withholds [from life] those upon whom He has decreed death, and lets the others go free for a term set [by Him]. In [all] this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think! 42 Have they taken others as intercessors besides Allah? Say: "Even if they have power over nothing whatever and have no intelligence?" 43 Say, "To Allah belongs [the right to allow] intercession entirely. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him you will be returned." 44 And yet, whenever God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who will not believe in the life to come contract with bitter aversion - whereas, when those [imaginary powers] are mentioned side by side with Him, lo, they rejoice! 45 Say: 'O Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth who has knowledge of the Unseen and Visible, You shall judge between the differences of Your worshipers' 46 Even if the sinners possessed whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and as much more, they would offer it to ransom themselves from the torment of the Day of Resurrection; yet what they did not even imagine would appear to them from God; 47 The evil consequences of their deeds will become fully apparent to them, and what they had scoffed at will encompass them. 48 So when some hardship reaches man, he prays to Us; then later when We bestow a favour upon him, he says, “I obtained this only because of some knowledge”; in fact it is a test, but most of them do not have any knowledge. 49 The same did say [to themselves many of] those who lived before their time; but of no avail to them was all that they had ever achieved: 50 Nay, the evil results of their Deeds overtook them. And the wrong-doers of this (generation)- the evil results of their Deeds will soon overtake them (too), and they will never be able to frustrate (Our Plan)! 51 Do they not know that God enhances or restricts the provision of any one He will. Surely there are signs in this for people who believe. 52