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 For every event God has ordained His decree. God establishes or effaces whatever He wants and with Him is the original of the Book. 39 (O Prophet), whether We make you see a part of the punishment that We have threatened them with come to pass during your life-time, or We take you away before that happens, your duty is no more than to convey the Message, and it is for Us to make a reckoning. 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 those before them did indeed make plans, but all planning is Allah's; He knows what every soul earns, and the unbelievers shall come to know for whom is the (better) issue of the abode. 42 And those who have disbelieved say, "You are not a messenger." Say, [O Muhammad], "Sufficient is Allah as Witness between me and you, and [the witness of] whoever has knowledge of the Scripture." 43